Snapdragon
by DulcetDreamer
Summary: An aspiring gardener and a music fanatic have one month to go head-to-head in order to determine the fate of their respective clubs. However, it seems that things are getting very out of hand...all's fair in love and war! (High School AU. DaveJade.)
1. The Beginning: Daffodils

This meant war.

It was in this moment right here that, more than ever, she wanted to slap the smart-alecky smirk right off his smarmy little face. Maybe she should just take him down right here in the hallway.

"So, looks like the rinky-dink Garden Club has seen its final days, huh, Harley?" Dave stared down at her condescendingly- at least, it _seemed_ that way; his signature pair of Raybans did wonders at concealing the eyes. The honey-blonde brat had a masterful poker face going for him, at least.

At her sides, her hands were balled up into angry, trembling fists. She furrowed her eyebrows, gritted her teeth, and growled. "Shut up, Strider."

There was _one_ more month, after all. One measly month left. Jade knew she could do it, she just had to. She'd raise the money and gain some members and her happy little garden club would prevail once again. Jade Harley would emerge the heroine of it all, the girl who made the impossible happen, the girl who made Dave Strider eat his words like the dirtbag he so obviously was.

/ . / . / . / . / . /

_Think, come on, think!_

During that afternoon's study hall session, Jade could be found scribbling away furiously in her notebook. It was one of those cheesy ninety-nine cent pads of paper you could buy at any discount store- the kind of notebook with a crapload of glitter and cute dogs and retina-burning neon colours on the front. She crunched numbers and doodled daisies and formulated plans, none of which was adding up to anything productive. _Think, think, think. _She just couldn't lose to Strider. She loved her little garden club.

She'd been the sole creator and president of the club since the start of freshman year; usually only two or three people showed up at a time, and that was the absolute maximum. But the amount of people didn't matter- sinking her calloused hands into warm earth soil, planting rows of happy little petunias and cheery tulips and impressive-looking irises, watching sunflowers sprout and stretch up for the skies- that was what really mattered! Most of all, she adored caring for her prized collection of chrysanthemums.

Sure, Dave's dumb Music Club was undeniably the most popular extracurricular offered. They called it "The Apex," as if it were some sort of teeny-bopper night club. Jade had no idea why. The Apex was essentially a whole bunch of sweaty teenagers jam-packed into one room listening to hipster-esque playlists, and as far as Jade was concerned, that was miserable. No match for playing out in the open fresh air, or soaking up some sweet rays of Vitamin D in the green house room. Nothing was better than that.

So when the school's faculty approached Jade personally after announcing a series of budget cuts and told her that one of the clubs had to be slashed out of the roster, her heart absolutely crumbled into a million pieces. Just because no one cared to ever show up to garden club (except for her cousin John, whom was forced to come to support her, and his best friend Rose), they deemed it the top contender for demolition. "Please," she begged, "Give Garden Club one last chance! I can make it work, I promise!" She was so darn insistent on keeping her club that they had to give her one last option. As it was now, Jade's Garden Club was on the bottom of the list; next to no attendees and held a hefty expense fee. At the top of the list was The Apex, which was led by none other than the infamous Dave Strider, which is exactly why Jade refused to give it the time of day. Always subject to his constant teasing and pestering…what a nuisance!

A note landed on her desk. She ripped herself from the rigorous round of brainstorming to unfold it. _"Hey Jade, I have an idea!" _She scribbled a reply with her signature green Sharpie. _"Oh! What is it, John?" _She folded the note back up and tossed it to her right.

"_A Car Wash!"_

A car wash? Yes, of course! A car wash! How had she not thought of that herself? Car washes are universally known to be the staple of all fundraising events! Considering they couldn't do a bake sale (Jade was one of the worst cooks in history, unfortunately) and absolutely no one wanted to buy those big honkin' catalog-books of coupons, a car wash would have to do. They'd likely be washing the cars of mostly adults as an additive plus, which would mean they could charge high and rake in the big bucks.

"_John, that's great! Where/when are we gonna do this?"_

"_Don't worry, meet me and Rose in the parking lot of Shut Up and Eat Your Burger ™ tomorrow at 3:00. Leave it all to me."_

Oh yeah, they were _totally _going to make this happen. But, she had to wonder if someone would trust a couple of goofy kids to wash their car in the parking lot of a fast food restaurant. Oh well. She'd just have to hope. She could hardly contain her eagerness as she waited in her seat for the last five minutes of Study Hall, and the bell ringing was a blessed relief. Collecting her things and shoving it in her bag, she sauntered out into the hallway to make the venture to her next class.

"'Sup Harley, how's it goi-"

Jade just smiled brightly and kept on going. Not even a guy like Dave could put on damper on her enthusiasm.


	2. The Car Wash: Geraniums

Two days later, the afternoon brought an overcast sky.

The cold glass jar was pressed firmly in Jade's calloused hands. It was relatively empty, save for a few dollar bills from family members who had stopped by out of support, or pity, or maybe even some combination of the two. Jade felt pretty embarrassed, sitting here on the curb of a fast food parking lot with nothing but broken ambition and a hollow jar.

"I can't believe they're letting us hold this failure of a car wash outside their business," Rose pondered.

"Why wouldn't they? No one eats at this dump anyway!" John laughed, turning the hose on her and spraying her with a burst of cold water. She shrieked and he started chasing her around, John laughing idiotically as they engaged in a merry little water war. At some point, a bucket of soapy water may or may not have ended up on John's head (but all's fair in love and war, after all).

Jade silently questioned if there was any hope at all left for this little fundraiser, but all hope was pretty much lost once she looked up to see John tying two sponges to his buttcheeks, respectively.

"We'll get business for sure now if I wash the cars like this," he exclaimed. Jade wondered if_ anyone_ would be willing to let her group of goofballs wash their car.

"Come on, Jade," Rose persuaded, "Let's not squander our time on this anymore."

"But…"  
"It'll be alright, there will be other opportunities- but it's about to rain and John is getting stupider by the minute."

Jade thought for a moment before hesitantly answering "okay" (which was more of a wistful sigh than an answer).

"Let's go, Spongebutt." John and Rose started heading to the entrance of the restaurant, chattering amongst themselves the whole way. Jade was still firmly seated at the curb.

"Go on without me, I'll be right there!"

She couldn't help but feel a little melancholy as she watched the two of them disappear into Shut up and Eat Your Burger™. They were amazing friends. She couldn't ask for better ones. But, it was pretty obvious that Garden Club wasn't important to them-at least, not like it was to her. Even though they couldn't have cared less about it, they still came to support her. For that, she was inexplicably appreciative. But maybe, for once, it might be nice to have someone to just_ click_ with- someone who was just as comfortable in silence as conversation. Someone who understood the unspeakable feelings of passion that bubbled within her, the excitement she couldn't put into words. It seemed that John and Rose were that way for each other- they just connected, and that was that.

Aside from all the obnoxious internal melodrama, she really had been hoping that she'd make at least a little cash with this fundraiser- but they had earned, like, five dollars max. Rose was right- there would be other chances to redeem themselves, but today had been a complete bummer.

_**BEEP BEEP!**_

Jade must have jumped about twelve-thousand feet in the air- she hadn't even noticed a car had pulled up! That car horn just about scared her to death! She flung herself up, pushed her glasses back onto the bridge of her nose and grinned- which quickly turned into a frown.

"Hey Harley." He looked sleek in his red convertible.

"What are you doing here?" Jade chastised, feeling red in the face from the embarrassment of being caught in her failure of a fundraiser.

"Ain't it obvious? I came to order some food at this restaurant, get my man-feast on, you know, and you just happened to be holding a huge event extravaganza out front."

She wasn't buying that for a single second- he had driven all the way here to mock her, surely. But what was she supposed to say? Tell him to beat it? That would be unnecessarily rude, and Jade did believe that she should be nice to others when possible- even Dave Strider. What goes around comes around.

His gaze shifted to the sky and he remarked: "Well, it's going to be raining cats and dogs pretty soon, huh?"

Jade looked down at her tennis shoes and shifted nervously. "Y-yeah, I guess…"

He smiled and his nose scrunched up, revealing dimples. Even Jade had to admit that he was pretty cute. _A devil with an angel's face_, she thought. "So, you gonna wash my car or what?"

She had to stop her mouth from falling agape. The audacity this kid had. He was her rival. In her mind, (whether or not it had any credibility) he was one of the reasons her club plunged into a jeopardized state, and here he was- at an event designed to save it. Talk about backwards. Was this a trick? Wouldn't be the first time. What was she supposed to do but to comply? Not like she had anything better to do.

He put the top over his convertible, turned off the car, and stepped out. She took a bucket and a sponge and wondered if John and Rose could see this; oh, how she wished that John and his Spongebutt were here to save her from the awkward and shameful state she was in! The smell of strong soap filled her nose as she did her best to scrub the side panels down. Tiny little bubbles spawned, floating in the damp pre-rain air. To be honest, she wasn't doing a very good job of it- she was incredibly slow and inexperienced with this sort of thing; she didn't even have a car, she much preferred her little low-maintenance bike.

"Might wanna pick up the pace," Dave remarked, "It'll start pouring any second." Before she had time to say anything, he was knelt down on the ground right next to her, a sponge in his hands. Obviously no amateur to the act, he scrubbed in big, swift circles with an undeniable rhythm to his motions. He was right next to her- Jade worked even slower as a result, startled by the close proximity. With each movement, the black suede of his leather jacket swept across Jade's arms, skin exposed from her T-Shirt. For whatever reason she couldn't place, it made her heart race. Even over the sterile stench of car soap, she could detect the sweet scent of a touch of cologne. She had a good nose, almost dog like.

"Jeez Jade! You've practically stopped working," Dave chortled. As though his words were an invitation, lukewarm rain trickled down from the grey skies. Jade looked up; droplets of water collided and rolled off her glasses. Rainwater clung to the sides of the car and rinsed the soap, the remains of it seeping out in a saturated puddle on the pavement. The job had been awful- they'd barely washed one side of the convertible.

"Now that's what I call a car wash!" Dave laughed, Jade angry at him for mocking her. This was just ridiculous. Blood pooled up in her cheeks, partly from a sense of humiliation and partly from anger. She just couldn't stand this kid, who did he think he was? She had the nerve to say something, but absolutely no words would come to her mouth.

He reached into his pocket to pull out a crappy duct tape wallet. "Thanks," he said. He placed a twenty dollar bill in her hands and walked off, retreating to his car- WAIT, WHAT?!

Before she had time to question him on it, he drove away.

She stared down, absolutely baffled (and thankful) at the gift. _What? Why? Argh!_

She shoved the money into her jar to prevent it from getting wet in the rain, sealed the jar, and had no idea what to think. But whatever was going on, it was just the beginning.


	3. Midnight Musings: Moonflowers

Under the façade of the ultra-cool sass master was an incredibly insecure dork with a huge crush.

He just couldn't understand what he was doing wrong- he was following his Bro's advice down to every little word and nuisance, and if there was anyone who understood the ladies, it was Bro. But at the end of the day, Dave knew that he could never be as cool as his brother.

He stood now shirtless beneath the warm, heavy light of the bathroom vanity, staring back at his reflection as he finished brushing his teeth. He spit the minty foam into the sink, rinsed, and flashed a snazzy smile. He started at his teeth- slightly crooked in some places and a smidgeon yellowed in others- and sighed heavily. Aside from the matter of his "pearly whites," he noticed the mole on his pasty white chest, just low enough to be concealed. He noticed the way that his ribcage bones were far too prominent- he was such a scrawny little shrimp, a real toothpick of a kid. The longer he analyzed himself, the more he grew angry. He wished he could change something, anything. Fix his stupid teeth, tan his ghostly completion, get ripped, anything! No wonder Harley hated him. Bro could practically feed him things to say but no amount of words could ever compensate for his stupid exterior.

Dave tore himself from the depressing sight in front of the mirror and sluggishly meandered out of the bathroom.

He drug himself into the kitchen. The little neon green numbers on the oven's clock flashed _11:30 PM._ Too early for a midnight snack, too late for dinner. Hmph. Removing the last of yesterday's pizza leftovers from the fridge, he slung them into the microwave and set the timer. His brother must have been working late again, as denoted by the Post-It adhered to the cabinet. He could have really used someone to talk to right about now in his current state, but there wasn't anyone to talk to. Aside from some flaky friends from school and a couple of snobbish audiophiles he'd met via Music Club, Dave didn't really have anyone. When you live behind a mask, it's hard to make friends, after all. Not that there was anyone who would want to be friends with him. He was a weirdo.

He brought the pizza and soda to his room and flopped down on his bed. Despite the inevitable greasy fingers he would no doubt acquire from the meal, he fired up his trusty laptop. He shoved a delicious slice into his mouth and logged into his MusicKa account. It was his favorite website, no doubt. How many countless hours had he spent making and uploading his own music creations? He had found out about the site last summer from his Bro, but he didn't dream of telling Bro he'd got an account. That'd be wicked embarrassing- his jams were his secret escape, his crappy paradise, his little home away from home.

A notification flashed at the top of the screen- _1 New Comment._ His heart fluttered a bit and he clicked in anticipation. If anything made Dave tick, it was the satisfaction in knowing that someone besides himself enjoyed his work. Being able to make others happy through his songs, well, it seemed to make his whole world go 'round.

"_You are looking for hot Russian bride? Good so was I also get free $$$$ quick and easy dating rich black singles very handsome! Would recommend you try this one little pill to make your-"_

UGH. It was just spam. He could have thrown the computer across the room. Stupid spammers. Always getting his hopes up for nothing.

The view count on each and every one of his songs was incredibly low. A remix here, a jam there. Maybe it was time to venture out into new territory. Eyeing the dusty old acoustic guitar in the corner, he hesitantly got up to retrieve it. He swiped the specs of dust that had accumulated on it. Dave didn't really play this thing much anymore. After he got his electronic DJ'ing equipment a while ago, he had sworn off the world of traditional music and stuck solely to cool electronica. Digging around the bottom of the nightstand drawer, he found an old guitar pick and began tuning the old faithful. He strummed a few test chords and remembered how much he used to love playing this thing. Not tooting his own horn or anything, but he _had_ been pretty skilled. Playing this thing was easy as pie for him- he hadn't forgotten a single thing. It had evolved from a crafted skill to a muscle memory to an instinct.

The harmonious rhythms bounced off the strings and poured out of the black cherry wood guitar, filling the room and engulfing it in sound. Dave was a natural. He toyed with a few chords here and experimented with a few riffs there, growing louder in confidence as he loved the sounds he produced A teensy smile crept on his lips. Moments like this just further reaffirmed that music was his passion. He wondered why he had ever stopped playing the acoustics. Sure, being a sleek DJ would be nice, but romancing the guitar was a pretty cool pastime too, right? Did girls still think that was cool?

Girls…

He struck a sharp note as his thoughts drifted off. They became warm and bright and 100% Jade Harley. There was no way twenty dollars was enough cash to spend a little bit with a girl like that- heck, he should have coughed up a hundred dollar bill. Nah, that's stupid, what was he? A stalker? Some sort of lovesick puppy? Ah man, no way, he wasn't some sappy little schmooze…until the image of a beautiful pair of forest green eyes behind black-framed glasses popped into his mind. Okay. He was a schmooze.

He thought for a second, pondering. After a moment, he opened a new text file on his computer and typed "_Jade Green_" at the top of the page. He began to type a few lyrics out and fiddle with some sounds and he really wasn't writing a song about Jade was he? Oh gosh. He was.

After a little tinkering here and a little polishing here, hours had passed and he sat playing his creation in front of a microphone. Not much longer than that and he was uploading the MP3.

He closed his laptop with nary an expectation in the world, but he admitted to himself that he felt a lot better. For the first time in a long time, Dave fell asleep without headphones logged in his ears. He drifted off into a cozy, comfortable slumber, completely unaware of the Pandora's Box he had just opened….


	4. Crochet Brigade Rebellion: Ipomeas

"Look, I'm practically giving you the deal of a lifetime!"

The next morning at school, Jade stood before fellow classmate Terezi Pyrope , who just happened to be her partner for the field trip they were about to embark on. It was too early in the morning to be making a sales pitch, but Jade was a fiery little mistress.

"Hmm…so, if I start going to your little club thingy, you can hook me up with Mr. Grumpypants over there?"

"You bet! You won't have me for a boring old partner anymore, no m'am! You'll be on a one-track trip to Karkat Land before you know it-"

"Jade," Terezi exclaimed, "shh, keep your voice down!"

She swept her ruby red fingernails through her short sleek hair and sighed. "Don't get me wrong Jade, you're great and all and a fine partner-"

"Shoosh! Shoosh shoosh shoosh! Say no more. This is perfect for both of us. Deal?" Jade extended a hand, to which Terezi hesitantly grabbed and shook and just like that, it was official.

Jade had to work fast; the buses would leave soon. Luckily, she and Terezi were standing close to the gym exit doors anyway. Jade hurriedly escaped the gymnasium (aka what Jade considered to be the kid corral, where they were holding the annual kid round up to make sure each and every person was present) and made her way into the main office. It'd be an impressive move if she could work this out.

"Counselor Paint!"

The woman looked up from her desk. She was undeniably a cute lady; short, chubby, and impeccably classy in her blue undershirt and yellow cardigan. She had the sort of warm smile that lit up the room, complete with dimples. Her curly gray hair was adorned by a bubblegum pink headscarf. "Oh, hello Miss Harley. What brings you here?"

"I need to request a partner exchange!"

Her brows furrowed in confusion. "Is something amiss with Terezi? I thought you two got along pretty well."

"No no, Terezi's great and all, but I…um.."

Oh gosh, don't freeze up now, Jade. You can talk your way out of this one. It's just Counselor Paint, after all. She's a pushover, this shouldn't be that hard. Just don't babble, don't babble, don't babble….

"You see, Tez gets really bored when she's with me, and when we're in Science class, it isn't any better because she practically falls asleep everyday I'm such a snooze! And um, I think our personalities don't mesh that well anymore these days and maybe she'd be better with someone else because we were talking and she agreed and…"

Of course. Babbling. Way to go, Jade Harley! She could have beat herself up in embarrassment right now. Counselor Paint just stared, thinking of what to make of the situation. Jade could feel an aching sense that this wasn't going to work out by any means.

"Ah, I see Jade…" the woman replied, followed by a short gap of silence. "You know, we're really not supposed to do this…but if it's between me and you, maybe I can make an exception." Jade was in the clear. A grin stretched a mile wide across her face.

"Oh, yes, of course!"

Jade was so lucky that it was Miss Paint in the office today; she was the only person who would even consider being willing to do this for her. What a lady! She pulled up the class roster pairing chart on her computer and turned to Jade. "So, this is the tricky part…who am I supposed to trade her out with? If she gave you the okay to do this, did she say anything else?"

"Karkat Vantas," Jade exclaimed a smidgeon too soon.

Counselor Paint gave a smug smile and a "I know what you're up too" sort of look, but didn't say anything else. Jade could feel a blush coming on. This was so stupid, but hey, Garden Club just scored itself a new member, and that's progress!

"Girl's secret," Miss Paint laughed and grinned, accompanied by a wink.

"Thanks a bunch!"

"Ah yes, young love," Paint mused to herself quietly and laughed. "I remember the days when it was me…" A click of the mouse and the clack of the keyboard and the roster was updated.

"Alright, so Terezi and Karkat are now partners, as well as you and David."

"Thanks again," Jade said as she shut the office door behind her.

Wow, she couldn't believe it had been that easy. I mean all she had to do was walk in and ask and-

WHAT?!

/ . / . / . / . / . /

"I thought you said NEPETA was Karkat's partner!"

"Oh? Nah, Nepeta's with Equius, remember?" Terezi blew a bubble with her gum and popped it in the same second.

"Anyway, thanks again! See you at your Garden thing!" She was off in a flash, leaving behind a trail of sound as her flip flops rapidly hit the floor.

Darn it, Pyrope!

Well, can't be helped at this point. In retrospect, Dave wasn't really that bad, Jade supposed. This would probably stink for him, though; well, whatever! He was going to have to suck it up. She was his partner now, and that was final because there was no way she was going to go back and manipulate the counselor into changing it _again_.

Amidst the chaos of chatter and chuckling, she made her way through the sea of teenagers in some effort to find him. He was pretty tall compared to the rest of the student body, this shouldn't be too difficult. She waded the waves of people back and forth, pushing and tugging and separating. Her eyes danced around the massive gym looking for Dave. All around, the sounds of early morning gossip exchanges and the overpowering scent of too much body spray drowned her and swallowed her up whole.

A set of unmistakable honey blonde locks splashed into view, becoming her lifesaver. _There you are!_

She sauntered up to him, putting her friendliest face forward with a chipper "hi Dave!"

"Oh, hey Harley."

"So, looks like I'm your new partner for this field trip and all. I dunno if you can handle me but looks like you can't back out now," she cracked heartily. His face was cold and expressionless, and whatever emotion he let pool into his eyes was concealed behind two glass shields. Jade couldn't help but get a little nervous. She hadn't considered him getting upset or angry over being force paired with her, and a teensy feeling of rejection began to spread in the back of her mind. Before he had time to really say anything, the faculty was rounding children up left and right like a regular Texas Rodeo.

Jade boarded her bus and made her way to the assigned middle seat. "Window seat or outside seat?" she offered.

"I'm cool with either."

Yep, he was definitely dreading this outing with her along, she could tell. She scooted in the seat all the way, offering him the salvation of being able to socialize. She propped her elbow up on the window seal and peered out at the world. The sunrise had yet to grace the skies that morning, and the world was still sleepy- she could empathize. She slipped a small peppermint candy out of the pocket of her cozy red jacket. The unwrapping made a nice crinkly noise and she popped the treat into her mouth. Out of the very corner of her eye, she peered over with careful discretion. Dave merely sat still and stiff, sort of awkwardly, like a formal butler or something. Formal butler Dave- the thought caused a coquettish little grin to escape her lips. She pictured him in a tuxedo so tight with starch that he looked like a scarecrow, waiting tables for fancy old people at a big hotel. It was a funny thought to entertain and she wanted to giggle, but repressed the urge. She thought for a moment, and then reached into her pocket once more.

"Peppermint?" she offered, looking away bashfully as she held the gift out.

"Oh, yeah…thanks…"

This was going to be a long field trip.

Another observation made itself apparent- there was hardly anyone on this bus! Aside from her and Dave, a pair of kids here and a pair of kids there were loosely stratified throughout. Oh gosh. No hope left for Dave to talk to the others then, she guessed- and John and Rose were on one of the other buses, no doubt. It seemed they were a part of the few kids they couldn't cram into the other couple of buses, so they spilled over into this one. Personally, Jade loved the serene silence of an empty bus- but not today! This was going to be hecka awkward… _Hmmm._

The bus rolled out of the parking lot and the journey began.

Luckily, Jade was not unprepared for such a scenario. She opened her little Squiddles purse (a birthday gift from years past- thanks John!), retrieved her phone, and unraveled her earbuds. For a split second, she considered offering an earbud to her bus buddy, but decided against it…only to change her mind once more a moment later.

"Do you…wanna listen to some "sick jams" with me?" she offered.

Much to her surprise, he smiled (oh boy, he even had dimples) and replied "sure."

She _was_ going to listen to the music she had stored on her phone, but then remembered a lot of it was a mixture of guilty pleasure style listening and this ride would become even more awkward with a soundtrack of Celine Dion and the Jimmy Neutron theme song (Jade swears she has no idea how that even GOT on there). Quick thinking, she fired up her app for MusicKa and signed into the front page.

Luckily, this website had a nice mixture of homemade indie creations _and _the playlists of already "mainstream" music so generously uploaded by other users.

He must have been watching her, because he asked the question "you have a MusicKa account?"

"Yeah! I like to have background music for everything."

From the bright smartphone screen, she scrolled down the homepage, examining the most recently made playlists in addition to the top liked and commented user-made songs.  
"Whoa, this one song just got a crapton of hits- and it was only uploaded hours ago! "

Hmph, it was entitled "_Jade Green"._ Well, with a namedropper like that, it just absolutely warranted a listen!

For whatever reason, she could have sworn she felt Strider tense up harder than a plot twist cliffhanger on a 1970s Spanish soap opera.

"Nah, d-don't listen to that junk, I heard it last night and it's the gayest piece of crap I've ever heard. Honestly, don't waste your time- who even listens to acoustic anymore these days anyway? All the front page stuff sucks."

"I dunno, I like acoustic stuff a lot! I think it sounds pretty…"

Regardless, she didn't listen to it per his request, just because he was acting totally weird about it. Dude must really hate slow ballads or something, sheesh….music guys are so finicky. She'd listen to it later, when he wasn't being such an audiophile Nazi.

She turned on a playlist she had made a while ago of popular assorted electronica and dance tunes, figuring that was more to his taste. "Better?"

"Yeah. That's what I'm talkin' about."

From the window, the sun had risen and engulfed the world in soft, warm hues of light. The bus rolled down the highway, and Jade wondered how long it would take to get to the city. She stared out, counting cars that passed by as the song playing ended and a new one began.

"Dude, you like Crochet Brigade Rebellion?"

She turned around to meet his face. "Yeah," she replied caught off guard, "I love them! They've got such a unique sound, don't they?"

"Heck yeah, I'm surprised you've heard of CBR-"

"Hey there Mister Hipster, you're not the only one who can listen to music," she teased.

And so, Jade and Dave launched themselves into a lively conversation of genres and artists and songs, which quickly transformed into Dave recommending band after band to a surprised Jade, which evolved into a semi crash course on the two kids' occasional conflicting tastes, which further evolved into a happy exchange of banter and laughter and maybe, just maybe, Jade Harley started to get the feeling that Dave Strider wasn't at all the person she had thought he was.


	5. The Aquarium: Waterlilies

It took every ounce of self-restraint for Jade not to run off the minute they arrived at the downtown Aquarium; the ever tedious process of lining up and counting students and checking in was in session, and trudging through that seemed just about unbearable with all the fun waiting inside.

The Dave next to her must have noticed (which wasn't hard to pick up on; she was practically jumping up and down). Jade wondered what he was thinking, but there's no telling with that kid.

After what felt like an eternity, they finally started moving. The outside of the Aquarium was just absolutely huge- and nothing short of breathtaking in the aesthetics department. The front of the sleek black building was shaped diagonally, the large glass walls fanning in and out, like a tidal wave. Blue lights planted in the landscaping shot up at the building, bathing it in gorgeous shiny hues of cerulean and periwinkle, as though it were a Technicolor ocean. As they approached it, they passed various statues of dolphins and nautical fountains- all of which Jade's classmate Feferi wanted to stop and take selfies with.

"Eridan," she hollered at her best friend and partner, "Come on! This is the perfect photo oppor-tuna-ty!"

"Fef, did you seriously just make that pun? Did you?"

Jade giggled a bit, watching those two. They were really made for each other, despite their embarrassed protests to the notion. They balanced each other's personalities out perfectly- and they were the only ones who couldn't see it. Well, Jade had a large suspicion that Eridan was fully aware, much to the aloof Feferi's ignorance. Gosh, how could she not see it? Jade had to smile at how oblivious Fef was to the pretty obvious feelings of her own best friend. Classic romantic comedy fodder. Jade would never be so incredulous!

After checking in at the desk and receiving their wristbands of admission, they stepped aboard the escalator that would travel down into the aquarium itself.

"Yo Jade, you excited to look at a bunch of fat wet animals all day?"

"You bet, Dave. I'm just about ecstatic!"

They stepped off the escalator to reach the bottom of the aquarium, as well as the starting point of the tour. They were set to go see some really long show with seals and junk first, which Jade was looking forward to- but staring down all the long dark hallways leading into the various rooms and tunnels just looked too fun. She wanted to run down them, press her round nose up on the glass and look at each and every single thing. Especially the jellyfish- Jade's personal favorite! She stared off at all the different directions longingly.

From behind her, she could her Feferi engaged in her usual banter with Eridan.

"Hey! Eridan! Do you wanna hear a joke?!"

"Not really, Fef."

"Okay! Here goes! What do you call a Mexican with a rubber toe?"

"What? What in the world, Fef? What in the whole freaking world?"

"Just answer it, poop-for-brains!"

"….I don't know. I've got no idea."

"ROBERTO!"

Jade erupted in uproarious laughter, unable to stop. Cheesy jokes were her secret weakness. Keeping her laughter in would be harder than keeping in explosive diarrhea after a week of just eating Taco Bell! It would also be just about as painful as reading that sentence!

"Jade, holy crap," Dave mused, grinning from ear to ear.

"I'm sorry….I just….oh my gosh…." Jade was in stitches, wailing like a sugar-high hyena, much to Dave's amused pleasure. Maybe she was laughing a little too hard; her glasses flew right off her head and landed on the floor with a thunk. She caught wind of this fact immediately (she could hardly see without them) and began fumbling around- only to be met with the crushing sound of glass breaking beneath her feet. Crap. She'd stepped on them like a total idiot.

"Oh man, Jade," Dave panicked, breaking into a nervous fit. "Look, don't cry, don't cry, it's gonna be okay, alright?! I can fix this, trust me, I'll…"

It seemed he was more worried than she was, striking a humorous chord with Jade. She was pretty upset, for sure, but she wasn't about to bawl her eyes out or anything. Gosh, why are boys so weird about crying? Like they're petrified of a little waterworks. Hmph. She had to admit that his concern was pretty endearing, though.

"Dave, no, it's fine," she assured him, "It's not the end of the world of the world or anything, trust me…you can just tell me what all the fat wet animals look like or something!"

Her attempt at calming him down was to no avail. He was still flailing around nervously, the gears in his brain ticking away to find a solution that just wasn't there. Just to avoid having to deal with a couple of potential tears, sheesh.

In a flash, he left her side and was off to who knows where. Gee, fleeing from the scene. So much for Strider. Jade shifted her broken glasses to the pocket of her jacket and zipped it up tight. She'd send them in to the optician's office to get them fixed when she got home, and she had a lucky spare pair of glasses tucked away in a drawer somewhere for the meantime, but it looked like today's aquarium visit was going to stink when she could barely see. How was she going to even get around properly? Ugh.

"HEY!"

The sound of a very, very annoyed John Egbert filled the air. Jade turned around to see a certain familiar blonde boy zipping through the air- that she could tell, no matter how blurry the scene was.

A pair of thick blacked framed glasses were suddenly slipped onto the bridge of her nose- oh my gosh, were these John's?!

"JADE, COME ON!" Dave laughed and smiled, grabbing her wrist and began pulling her along. "We ain't waiting around for these losers no more!"

The two of them ran to escape a very angry John (which Jade was feeling very bad about, but it looked like Dave wasn't taking no for an answer) and plunged into the darkness of the tunnel-hallway. Where ever they were going, Jade had to admit she was undeniably happy and incredibly looking forward to whatever was coming next.


	6. In the Company of Moon Jellies: Irises

"You look pretty angry, John. Downright furious, even."

John squinted his blurry eyes and furrowed his brows in response, steaming in anger as Rose interlocked her arm with his, leading him along into the auditorium of the dolphin show.

"Someone needs to kick Strider's butt," he growled.

"Oh? And who could that 'someone' possibly be?"

They meandered their way into the bleachers and sat down.

"I don't know how, Rose, and I don't know when but…so help me! I'm going to get him back!"

"All in good time, John," Rose smirked, bemused. "All in good time."

John crossed his arms and let out a frustrated huff.

"You know, it's SO painfully obvious that he likes Jade."

"Yes? And your point in that is?"

"It's freaking irritating! She thinks he's an idiot!"

"You're wrong there," Rose retorted, "It appears she's been warming up to him as of recent. Haven't you noticed?"  
"No way," he argued, "I'm 100% sure she still thinks he's got his head stuck up his butt."

"Oh, how cute. Now you're playing the classic role of the overprotective family member," Rose teased.

"No, she can't stand him! I know it. In fact, I'm positive! If there's anything I know for absolute sure on this earth, it's that she hates Dave. Poor Jade's probably miserable right at this very second."

/ . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . /

Jade Harley was just about having the best time of her life!

Ditching the group and running off with Dave had turned out to be a spectacular idea. His little maneuver with John's glasses had also been a bemusing solution to her problem. Nearsightedness effected both Jade and John hereditarily (though John to a lesser degree), rendering John's glasses a great deal of help to her- although Dave most likely hadn't thought it through to that extent.

After they had run far enough away for the coast to be clear, they were giggling and laughing and joking around before they knew it.

Jade pressed her nose up against one of the ginormous glass tunnel walls, gazing in awe at the creatures swimming by. The shimmering light that broke through the water in the tanks danced off Dave's shades.

"Look, a shark!"

"Thar she blows," Dave declared, "it's Moby Dick."

"Um, Dave?"

"Yeah?"

"Moby Dick was a whale," Jade giggled.

"Whales, sharks, whatever. They're all fat, wet animals in the end."

The two laughed as the gargantuan shark swam above them, casting them a shadow below.

They continued their little journey through the aquarium, seeing anglerfish and zebra turkeyfish and everything in-between. Dave continued on with his special brand of wise-cracking, and Jade continued to laugh at every awful joke without fail.

"Check it out, it's Nemo," Dave remarked as they came upon the clownfish in the coral reef exhibit. "Yo, your dad's been swimming his back tail fins off looking for you, lil' guy." The fish swam around in circles, making his eventual return back to the puffy anemone plant.

"This seems like a pretty good photo opp," she suggested, taking her cell phone out.

"Heck yes, selfie time. Here, gimme the phone, I'll take your picture ."

"Oh, no you don't!"

"Huh?"

"You get in on this too!"

"What?"

She playfully grabbed his arm and pulled him next to her in one swift movement. She snagged her phone back and turned the front-facing camera on, their faces lighting up on the screen.

"Say cheese, coolkid!"

"Wait, Jade, you gotta tilt it."

"Tilt it?"

"Yeah, like this. Also, turn this filter on and turn that setting off…"

He raised his arm up and placed his hand on hers, shifting the camera a bit to the right and adjusting the angle.

"Just trust me. I'm the freakin' selfie master."

"Alright, if you say so."

They took the photo and she was, in fact, quite pleasantly surprised with the results. While she smiled from ear to ear, Dave on the other hand looked rather cool and stoic (not a surprise)- but if you were to look just closely enough, you could see the faint suggestion of a little smile playing on the corners of his mouth. The two looked good together- very good. His pale skin and light hair nicely complimented her dark hair and tan completion, and he was awfully cute and oh my gosh, why was she even thinking this? She quickly closed out of the photo app and put her phone back in her pocket before she had the chance to entertain anymore weird thoughts.

"Whoa, thanks Dave! You really are good at this. You've got a real knack for photography. I don't usually look this good in pictures at all," she admitted sheepishly.

"Pfft, I doubt that."

"No, no, you're great at it, I'll bet you-"

"What? I don't doubt my wicked skills in the art of portrait-taking."

"Huh?"

"Nothing."

He looked down and prodded them to walk along. Despite Jade's confusion of what just happened, she decided she wouldn't press the issue further. Well, whatever the issue was.

They came to a choice between two designated areas.

"Well, Harley? Otters or penguins?"

"Hmm…"

She paused, pondering the impossible decision. Both animals maxed out on the cuteness scale, after all. She thought it over for a good while.

"Haaaaarley, you in there?"

Dave waved his hands in front of her- er, John's- glasses, and beckoned her back down to earth.

"Actually," she asked, "Do you think it's alright if I say neither?"  
He threw her an incredulous look before inquiring on what she meant.

"Well, where DO you wanna go? …Oh, I mean, if you wanna go back with the rest of the group, I get it-"

"No way!"

Without putting a lot of thought into it, she grabbed his hand and tugged him towards the opposite direction.

"Hey, where are we going?"

She laughed and silenced him with a "c'mon and find out."

/ . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . /

Dave found himself as blind as a Jade Harley without glasses- but he sure as heck wasn't about to say anything about it.

The blacklight of the empty room enveloped them in pitch darkness, save for the beautifully illuminated tanks of the jellyfish. The creatures themselves were displayed in a medley of different types, each of them glowing and shining in breathtaking bioluminescence.

"They're my favorite aquatic animal," Jade exclaimed as she lead them in.

He was incredibly thankful that she had, for whatever reason, let go of his hand halfway there- his red palms had started sweating rivers. He hoped by some miracle that she hadn't noticed.

He relied on Jade being in front of him, following her unknowing leadership to get around the room; his shades were obscuring everything, but he'd rather die than take them off. She'd run away screaming if he took them off.

"Moon jellies!" She was more excited than a kid waking up to a crapton of snow on a school day. It was adorable. "They're the most beautiful things I've ever seen!"

She began talking aloud to herself with vigor about all the facts she had accumulated about jellyfish and this particular species and whatnot. She noted something about "Aurelia aurita" and symmetrical bell size, and another something-something about translucency. Dave wasn't really keeping up with all of it, but rather, found amusement in her unbridled passion towards fish that looked like floating tissue papers. In the middle of the grandiose pseudo-lecture, she stopped and caught him off guard.

"Hey…can you even see in those things?"

"What? Yeah. You know it."

"No way! I bet you can't see a thing!"

"No worries."

"Come on…why don't you take them off for a bit? A few minutes won't jeopardize your cool cred," she giggled.

"Nah." He wished she'd stop pressing the issue.

"Please?"

"Nope." She'd have to give up soon enough…

"Just for a little?"

"No way." This was getting irritating.

"Come oooon."

"**NO**," he replied with great amplitude, vehemently opposed to the idea. The harsh response was a mistake; he should have concealed his intensity, because the minute it came out of his mouth, he instantly regretted it. Why did he have to be such an idiot? He wished he could see her expression, to make sure she wasn't upset- but the silence spoke loud enough to give him an answer of sorts. He began mentally beating himself up, scouring his brain for the right thing to say. Nothing came to him. He let out a sigh and decided there was only one thing left to do.

"Okay…but you can't tell anyone, got it?"

"I don't understand the big deal about being seen without a pair of sunglasses," she replied with a tinge of rightful curtness.

"Not a single word to anybody."

He closed his eyes and slowly shifted the shades to the top of his head, letting them rest there. With a nervous heart and a restless mind, he wondered why he was even going to do this. He would NEVER, under any circumstances, do this for_ anybody_- so why now? She was going to be horrified. Just like the last time when he was just a little kid in primary school that someone had seen his eyes. Oh, the names he'd been called, the way they acted like he was some kind of demon. You can tell people that it's a genetic defect until you're blue in the face, but that won't stop the teasing. You can't ever stop the teasing. And once the teasing gets out of control, you have to eat alone at lunch because the kids think you're straight out of The Exorcist and they're scared of you. It was after that that he'd vowed to never let anyone see them again. And yet, he found himself in this compromising moment. Without further hesitation, he became brave, took a small breath, and opened his blood red eyes.

She stood breathless, mouth agape.

"D-dave…they're….they're…"

A variety of curses ran through his head. It'd only hit him right then that his already startling eyes would be six times as scary under the blacklight. He should have seen this coming…

"Absolutely beautiful."

What?

To say she was simply looking at them would be a massive understatement. She was unabashedly gawking. Wait, was she…blushing? Oh wow. Great, now he was blushing, too.

"They're not that great," his voice quivered slightly as he struggled to remain nonchalant.

"Y'know, I take back what I said earlier, about the jellyfish being the most beautiful things I've ever seen…y-your eyes take that position, hands down."

He couldn't really believe this was happening. He had no idea what to say. His face must have been as red as a tomato- no, as red as his eyes- and it was excruciatingly embarrassing.

"They're like rubies," she gushed. "It's a real crime you keep those stupid shades on, Dave."

He couldn't help but stare back. What on earth was wrong with this girl? His irises were the fodder of many a B-grade horror film. Anyone sane would think his blood-pooled eyes were freaky, and yet…if there was something wrong with Jade, well, he hoped nobody would ever set her right.

Breaking the silent stare-fest, she lurched forward, threw both her arms around him, and wrapped him in a sudden, colossal hug. He could have screamed like a little girl. A very, very happy little girl. He could have sworn Jade radiated warmth, feeling it from their bodies being so close. He stood frozen, cold like the tundra winds of the Artic, because he was a dork. He wished more than anything to pause this moment forever. All around them, the neon frills and bells and ribbon-y tentacles of jellyfish spiraled and drifted and swayed and danced, relishing in the moment.

She ceased the quick embrace and jumped back, much to his eternal chagrin. "Thank you for letting me see your eyes," she grinned from ear to ear. "I promise I won't tell anyone- even though I think that's silly, because they are amazing." She awkwardly rubbed the back of her head and looked down at the ground. Dave was still rendered speechless.

Desperate to escape the embarrassing, dark solitude of the scene, she snapped out of the moment to declare "so, how 'bout them otters?" and in an instant, they were off once more. He flipped his shades back down.

He loved this girl so much.


	7. Checkmate, Strider: Tea Roses

It is a universal fact that all good things come to an end, and thusly, the grand fun of the Aquarium found itself over eventually and the routine pattern of school life returned once again...well, for some people, maybe.

"John, so help me if you get that water on me one more time."

"Or what, Rose?!"

"If you don't stop devilishly wagging your eyebrows like that, you're going to find out."

Jade sat pruning the tea roses, little clippers firmly in her gloved grasp. She silently pondered a million little thoughts, some of which had to do with the field trip. Okay, a LOT of which had to do with the field trip. She was starting to think maybe, _just maybe_, she had been wrong about Dave. She'd seen a completely new side of him, a side she had to admit she liked a lot. She wondered if things would go back to normal now, and whether or not Dave would go back to his ice cold persona. She fervently hoped not. The Dave she'd seen that day, well…she would have liked to spend a lot more time with THAT Dave. Perhaps. Maybe.

She immersed herself in pruning the flowers. Tea Roses- the result of crossbreeding, a pastime Jade was well familiar with. They sprouted up in full, luscious bloom, petals soft as feathers. These in particular were bright, vibrant vermillion. They were gorgeous, the perfect shade of red, the exact colors of Dave's eyes…

What was she doing thinking about Dave's beautiful eyes?! Ugh!

_Mental note- stop thinking about Dave Strider._

"Jade? Jaaaaaaade. Hey!"

"What? Oh, yeah Tez?!"

"What are you thinkin' about, space cadet? Somebody's blushing," Terezi teased.

"What? No I'm not!"  
"Are too!"

"Are not!"

"Your words say one thing but your face says another!"  
"Ugh, whatever!"

Terezi laughed and plopped herself down next to Jade in the grass.

"Sooo, I was thinking about your situation," Terezi began.

"My situation?"

"Garden club about to end and all."

"Yeah?"

"Look, I found this flyer in the commons today and I thought you could use it."

Terezi handed her a little flyer with the words "storytime reader needed" printed in bright colours and obnoxious font across the top.

"Hey, wait- this is a paying job!"

"And it's easy as it gets, too. Read to a bunch of smelly little kids at the library and rake in some quick dough!"

Jade couldn't help but laugh at that. She glossed over the details of the event and drew in a sharp breath.

"Crap, I can't make these time slots…"

She pondered it for a moment, still determined as ever.

"…but I know someone who can!"

She glared over at her cousin, who noticed immediately and dropped his watering cans. "What? What are you looking at me like that for?!"

She smiled from ear to ear and held up the advertisement. "I hope you're good with children, John!"

"NO. Oh, NO. I am NOT doing this!"

"Oh, but you are!"

"NO!"

Time to pull out the signature puppy dog eyes.

"No! No, stop that right this instant, Jade Harley! Do not pout like that at me!"

She kicked it into overdrive.

"No, seriously. Go ahead and cry. I am NOT doing it," he retorted, stubborn as ever.

"Oh?" Rose mused. "John Egbert makes young ladies cry?"

"W-what? No, I-"

"I didn't think you were like that, John," Rose teased. "I thought you were more of the sensitive type. You had me impressed."

"No, Rose, I-"

The snarky blonde smirked and flung her arm up over her forehead in a ridiculously dramatic gesture. "How long before I'll be next?! He'll make us all cry! Everyone, look out for this gentleman right here- he's a heartbreaker!"

"Rose, stop! Come on! You know I don't- UGH! FINE. YOU KNOW WHAT? FINE!"

Jade beamed from ear to ear, reminding herself to thank Rose for that later- if John hadn't killed her for this by then.

Good thing the free period was over and it was time to go back in.

/. / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . /

John found himself in detention once again that afternoon, this time for taking the teacher's rolling office chair out into the hallway and spinning around like a maniac while the teacher was in the bathroom, all on the dare of another classmate. _Worth it_, he decided. Detention was a routine part of school for not just John, but every Egbert in history. Hey, even being a prankster comes with its downsides.

Seated next to him was a familiar face: Dave Strider. Who knows what could have landed him in here today. John didn't see Dave in here all that often, but he did show up from time to time. Not that John ever knew why; he was pretty darn elusive about discussing why. John didn't really know why; if you couldn't brag about what you did or how many laughs it got you, it probably wasn't worth doing.

"Hey stupid! Whaddaya in for?"  
"Shut your face, Egdork."

Looked like he wasn't going to get anything out of him.

"I'm still really mad at you over the glasses thing, you know."

"Tough luck, butthead."

Not once did Strider look up; he was too busy glaring down at his phone, carefully concealed under his desk. John gave up for the time being, half envious he didn't have a phone of his own to play with. Maybe he could nab his dad's for next time. John stared off at the ceiling, reliving the comedic gold of the Great Spinny-Chair Escapade in his head. He smiled, proud of himself. His dad would probably laugh, even…if John told him. Eventually, John got bored of the memory and became interested in whatever the heck Strider was up to on that dang phone of his.

He did his best to peer out of the sides of his bright blue eyes, curiosity overtaking him. It was a good thing that detention was being held in the Science room today; the closeness of the joined lab tables made it a lot easier to spy on whatever he was up to.

He stole little glances here and there, carefully cautious to make sure Dave didn't notice.

_MusicKa._ Hmph. That was that music site, right? He'd recognized the familiar page layout from all the times Jade had been on it. He could see that Dave was logged in, under the username of-

No! Don't flip your phone off now! Ugh!

Had he caught wind of John's visual eavesdropping? Maybe, maybe not. John wished he could have at least seen what Dave's username was on there, seeing as how now he was more curious than ever…

Strider sat cold and callously, leaning back on the hind legs of the chair, arms crossed and folded against his chest. His stoic expression and stiff body language probably meant he was in a less than happy mood, but with Strider, you could never tell. Not once had John ever seen him with his shades off, not even the first day he'd arrived at this school. It seemed as though the dude was the master of the poker face. This kid was a total punk; who did this guy think he was, having the hots for Jade? John made a mental note to convince Jade not to go anywhere near this weirdo from now on.

A slight vibration came from the pants pocket of Dave's jeans, and the phone came back out- a MusicKa notification. Score.

_TurntechGodhead._ That was the username.

/. / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . /

Later that night, John sat basking in front of the glow of his computer screen, listening to a song.

It wasn't just any song.

It was a very, very special song- a vitally important one. It was a perfectly pleasurable tune, very sweet to the ears. The soft strums of the guitar were coupled with a musky, raspy singing voice. To John, it was the precious sound of revenge.

_Jade Green._

A slow, evil grin spread on John's face. Checkmate, Strider.

"Oh boy, am I gonna teach you a lesson about stealing my glasses…."

From the downstairs kitchen, Mr. Egbert wondered why his son was erupting with glorious bouts of evil laughter.


	8. Dave in the Headlights: Meadowflowers

It was cold and rainy that morning.

The world shivered under the chilly breath of the rain, and any rays of sunlight were hidden carefully within a blanket of heavy, dark clouds. The sounds of water splishing and splashing beneath rain boots and cars disrupting tranquil puddles filled the crisp air. It was a dreary day all together- _perfect for the demise of a Strider_, John thought to himself impishly.

He laughed to himself as he entered the school hallways, imagining how great this was going to be. Today, John Egbert would become the greatest trickster to ever grace these halls.

From within his pocket was his dad's fancy PDA- he'd have it back as soon as school was over, and with any luck, his dad wouldn't even notice it was gone. Well, he probably would, but this was gonna be worth it. He'd take a thousand groundings. The gears of fate were set ticking forward, and his plan was about to be set in motion.

He had planned out to approach Dave before the school day actually began, and thusly, found himself cornering Dave at his locker.

"Oh, it's butthead. Whaddya want?"

"I wouldn't be calling me names today if I were you."

Dave's expression turned incredulous. John imagined that from beneath his sunglasses, his eyes were filled with nothing but fear and terror! Heck, Strider was probably shaking on the inside! Haha!

He smiled evilly, not being able to contain it.

"You're quite the musician, aren't you?"

"….dude, what are you even _talking_ about?"

"Don't play dumb with me!"

"….well, ooookay then, if you're just going to be a big weirdo, I'm gonna go ahead and go about my business-"

"Two words, Dave," he cooed. "Jade. Green."

A deer in headlights- no, no! A Dave in headlights!

"...what?"

"Checkmate."

"Y-you're so weird. I've got no idea what you're talking about."

"Resistance is futile! We both know that the song was all you. Come on, Dave. Anyone with ears knows it's you."

Dave's expression turned angry, body language stiff.

"You can't prove anything."

"Oh, I dunno. I think the lyrics _'snapdragons blooming in the middle of spring; she's got beautiful eyes, such a bright jade green' _speak for themselves."

John snickered and smirked. He had Strider in the palm of his hands; the expression on his face said it all. He was horrified.

"Let's see what Jade has to say about it, shall we?"

His voice was as gruff and serious as a teenage boy can be.

"Don't you even _dare_."

"Oh boy, this is gonna be sooo good."

"YOU TAKE ONE STEP AND YOU'RE DEAD."

Faster and lighter than the breeze itself, John was off, with a very furious Dave Strider trailing right behind him. They moved quicker than light, weaving through the hallways at top speed, John smiling wickedly from ear to ear the entire time- and Dave on the verge of a mental lapse.

"EGBEEEEEEEEEEERT!"

John laughed heartily as he approached his homeroom class, the same homeroom class that Jade was in. He had just barely escaped the surly grasp of his would-be captor as he flung the classroom door open.

"Oh, Jaaade!~"

His eyes frantically scanned the room.

They came up Jade-less.

Oh, come ON! Of all times for her to be late for school!

"ROSE," he yelped. "Where's Jade?!"

"Oh?" She peered up from the book she was buried in to meet the wide-eyed gaze of the heavily panting boy. "She's not coming today."

The gears of fate screeched to a grinding halt.

/ . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . /

Becquerel jumped up onto the bed and got comfy.

"Oh, hey there boy," Jade sniffled, petting his soft white fur. "Nice to have you join me!"

She snuggled down into the covers, propped herself up against the pillows, and flipped the TV remote power button on. A powerfully gusty sneeze escaped her nose and she fumbled around for a tissue from the nightstand table. There couldn't have been a better day to come down with a cold; the rain outside was pouring and Jade was more than happy for a little day off. She had already fired Rose off a message that she was going to be absent, and being the great friend Rose was she'd handle collecting any make-up work Jade would need to do.

She flicked through the channels with nary a thing piquing her interest. Maybe she should put on a disc from her Squiddles Collector's Edition Box Set…nah, she'd seen every episode at least two times over and she wasn't really in the mood for the general brand of loud, comedic silliness that the nostalgic show had to offer. She left the cozy warmth of her bed to retrieve a pile of DVDs. Flipping through them one by one, she finally settled on one. She popped it in the player and returned to her bed.

Lady and the Tramp appeared on the screen; it was her all-time favorite film. You simply can't beat 1950s puppy love, after all. However, as soon as the movie began to play, her mind drifted off sleepily to a thousand different places, slumber about to take her. She closed her watery eyes and twitched her puffy, red nose, tenderly curling up on her pillows. Her mind drifted off into warm and happy dreams. She was transported to a world of meadows filled with flowers and sunshine, a world where graceful jellyfish of every kind swam in the waters, a world with handsome blonde knights who would chivalrously steal glasses for young ladies….

"…And those right there are knapweeds! But they don't really look like weeds, do they?"

"Milady?"

"Hmm?"

"We've been sitting in the meadows for hours now."

"Ah, I'm sorry, you probably have to get back to the castle, right?" She blushed and swept her hair behind her ears. "Duty calls, and all. I-I have to get back to the village and all, too, I guess! The flower shop can't wait forever!"

"No need to be sorry, Miss Jade." He smiled at her and her heart melted like M&Ms on the sidewalk during a July afternoon.

He helped her up and whistled for his noble steed, Sir Cal the Third, who was happily grazing in the distant fields. He galloped over and Jade cursed how fast time had flown. She would have loved to spend all her time with the knight, relishing in his company.

He took the reins in his gloved grasp and Jade began to shuffle her feet, never really knowing how to say goodbye- luckily for her, he knew exactly how.

Her bright green eyes widened as he took her in his arms, hugging her tightly. She wrapped her arms around him in return, surprised but in the most ecstatic of all ways. Before she even had time to process it, his hand cupped her chin and drew her in to meet his lips with hers. The feeling was purely electrifying- this was_ far_ from the first time he had done this, but every single time was like the first; her heart beat a million times a minute, feeling like it'd beat right out of her chest. It was the sweetest of all kisses that had ever been kissed, and about that, Jade was sure. She felt the warmth of his face on her cheeks they were so close- was he blushing? Or was it her own heat reflecting off of him?

After what felt like forever, he released her lips with a warm, happy sigh and rested his forehead against hers, gazing into her eyes.

"That never gets old," he chuckled.

Even though she was still dazed from the embrace, her fingers knew what to do as they inched themselves to the feather soft locks of his hair, weaving themselves into place.

"I've got half a mind to never let you leave!" Jade teased, regretting having said it the minute she did, fearing she'd overstepped her boundaries right over the line into creepy weirdo territory.

He said nothing, only continuing to stare into her eyes with a pondering expression.

"I, um…ugh, I'm sorry, you should be leaving now- UMPH!"

He picked her up bridal style, snickering the whole time, and put her on the horse. He climbed up himself, taking her arms and wrapping them around his waist tightly.

"Come on," he cooed, "Let's get you back before I actually _do_ run off with you."

They galloped off together in the cheesiest, most cliché way possible, with breeze and light enveloping them and the two of them smiling as happy as a pair of lovers could possibly be….

Jade's eyes fluttered open, returning back to reality. She woke to a runny nose and a blue screen on her TV- she'd slept through the whole movie, hadn't she?

She could feel her face flush, partly from sickness and partly from the dream. Maybe it wouldn't be so embarrassing if it had been the first time she'd dreamt of him- but it was not. A wave of guilt and embarrassment came over her. She rubbed her temples, sat up, and yawned. This was surely the consequence for thinking of him so often; her subconscious' way of punishing her. If there was any universal constant, it was that a boy like Dave Strider would never like someone like her, and that was end of story. Disney was wrong; dreams most certainly do NOT come true! Things only get done through hard work and sacrifice, and even then, some things are just not possible! Like…like…having Dave love you! Ugh!

Maybe it was time to just admit it. As much as she so vehemently hated the idea, was so preposterously opposed to it, she was in love with Dave. In love with her rival- how stupid! How awful! How painful…

…how wonderful.


	9. A Spec of Hope: Marigolds

This is was definitely not the way Dave wanted to spend his Saturday.

"This one, this one!"

The little girl tugged on his jacket, handing him some trite picture book fodder about farm animals or some such silliness.

"Hmmm…_The Cow That Went Moo_." He took the book in his grasp and set down in the chair.

"Okay, are we all good with this?"

"No," one of the boys cried in the back. "I wanna read this!" He proudly gestured to the reading material of his choice.

"….um, little dude, that's not a book. That's a magazine about cars."

"I like cars," beamed one girl munching on Cheerios and drinking juice from a sippy cup.

"NO! We're gonna read about cows!"

"Shut up, Alexis! I wanna read about cars!"

"No, you shut up!"

Dave sighed, watching the kids quarrel intensely over such a silly matter. None of them was a day older than six, at the very maximum. He had never really been good with kids; they smelled weird and cried a lot and made him feel uncomfortable. And yet, here he was at the library, reading to a room full of these little booger-nosed bundles of energy.

"HEY," he silenced them. "EVERYONE, KNOCK IT OFF. I've got an idea."

They all turned to stare at him with wide eyes.

"I'll TELL you a story. One I make up. With cars AND cows. Or something."

All the kids beamed at the idea, Cheerio girl clapping her tiny palms together and the one named Alexis let out a cheer and the weird kid who liked cars made some vrooming noises. Dave decided that car kid was his favorite.

"All right kiddos, you'd better hold on to your seats. This story's a real doozy."

They were absolutely captivated.

"It's called _The Racecow_. Like, a racecar, but instead, it's racecow"

"That's stupid!"

"You know what -" Dave bit his tongue. Gotta cool it on the temper, even in the adversity of some annoying brats.

"I like it! This sounds great!"

"Thank you, Jennifer."

"My name is Susan!"

"Yeah, cool, whatever, Stephanie. Anyways, _The Racecow. _One upon a time, there was this really cool cow dude, right? Like, probably the coolest cow to ever moo. All the lady cows pretty much loved him and he had all the friends and nobody messed with him. He was the king of the farm. But he had a big secret, one that no one was supposed to know. One day, this fat nasty piece of trash rooster named John found out that secret and was about to tell someone, so Racecow got like, real scared. You following this?"

They nodded their heads.

"Racecow ran faster and faster after John the Rooster, as fast as those wicked hoofs could stomp. Racecow caught up with John the Rooster and tried to kick the crap out of him, but not even that was gonna stop him from yappin' his big idiot beak and spreading that juicy delicious secret as second rate gossip fare."

Car kid raised his hand.

"Yeah?"

"Why do they call him Racecow?"

"Put your sticky little hand back down and I'll tell you why, bro. They called him Racecow because he loved to race, and he was darn good at it. Nobody ever beat Racecow in the arena."

Another hand flew up.

"What?"

"There should be princesses in this story, too!"

"Calm down. There will be. Everybody just listen!"

He sighed and continued on with the tale.

"John the Rooster was dumb, but he did something smart. He had already told Rose the barn cat about it, and Rose was the cunning-est little devil on that whole farm. Nobody outsmarts Rose the Cat at her own game. Racecow thought his secret was as good as done for, but there was one last way out. John the Rooster was not only a horrible person- I mean, chicken- but he also had an awful work ethic and refused to do the work that was required of him. So, he pushed it off on Racecow as a form of bribery. Blackmail at its finest."

The kids were staring at Dave with mouths agape in an O shape. You could have heard a pen drop.

"You know what Racecow's big secret was?!" Dave's voice rose with angry passion. "Do you kids have any idea?! Well, I'll tell you. Racecow was like, head over hooves for this Princess Pony. She was the smartest, funniest, nicest, most brilliant pony- not just on the farm, but the whole world. She wasn't like some lazy princess that just sat on her butt and ate horsey bon bons all day, no siree. She did cool inventive stuff, like building an entire irrigation system for the farm when theirs was crap. Princess Pony was amazing, and Racecow was such a huge coward because he knew he could never be with Princess Pony."

"W-why couldn't he?!"

"Because Princess Pony would probably laugh and stomp dirt right into his face as she galloped away into the sunset."

"But you said she was the nicest!"

"Yeah, well, Princess Pony was just way too good for Racecow, okay? And you know what else? She hated him."

The kids gasped, practically on the edge of their seats- well, playtime mats, but you get the picture.

"Princess Pony loved racing more than anything, and Racecow was her rival. He couldn't just resign from the races, oh no. That wasn't allowed. But no matter how slow he tried to go, no matter what he did, Princess Pony just couldn't seem to catch a break. Oh, he admired her dedication. She was more determined than some sort of soccer mom on steroids watching her little brat in the bottom of the ninth in the grand national championship-"

"Hey! I play soccer, and there is no such thing as a ninth inning! That's baseball!"

"Be quiet kid, I think I know my sports. Anyways, Racecow was in a total rut. He didn't know what to do or when to do it, because nothing he was doing was working."

The kids waited with their anticipation at its peak, eager to hear the conclusion of the epic. That was right when the clock struck noon. Dave sighed and lifted himself up out of the chair.

"Well, whaddya know? It's noon already. It's been fun, kiddos."

"Wait! No! We have to hear the end!"

He couldn't help but smile a bit at their emotional investment in the metaphor of his life. It was sort of ironic, in a cosmic spacey sort of way.

"Your guys' parents are here to pick you up, you can hear the rest of the story later."

He sighed and walked himself to towards the front of the library, payment for the deed tucked away into the back of his black jeans.

"Hey."

Dave whipped his head around to find an unexpected sight.

"John? What the-"

"Don't try to kill me or anything, just listen, okay? I heard the whole thing."

"Dude, what is wrong with you?!"

"I was behind one of the shelves and I was gonna video tape your little session today because I thought it would be hilarious, but turns out, it wasn't. It was just really pathetic."

"I'll show you who's pathetic-"

"Whoa, settle down. Hear me out. I didn't know you actually liked Jade, okay?"

"Are you retarded?"

"No, I mean like, I didn't know you LIKED her liked her. I thought you probably just thought she was hot or had a nice butt or something. But it seems like you actually do care about her!"

Dave slapped his forehead in a facepalm. The things he had to put up with…

"And I'm kinda staring to think that, well…maybe…you're an alright dude."

"Is this supposed to be some kind of an apology?"

John grew flustered, furrowing his brows together in frustration.

"N-no! I won't apologize for looking out for my cousin! And you still have to read to these kids on the weekends, because they just like you so much that there's no way we could replace you with me!"

"Egbert-"

"And I'm also thinking that watching you fall all over yourself like a lovesick puppy is really embarrassing, and bros should help bros out. I bet we've got a tiny little spec of hope in getting Jade to like you. I know her better than anyone, and if anyone can help you out, it's me."

John threw an arm around Dave's shoulder. "You game?"

"Get your arm off me."

"So, we've got ourselves a deal!"

Dave had no idea what he was getting himself into, but with any luck, maybe it wouldn't end in a flaming disaster. Okay, who was he kidding? This was going to be a disaster.


	10. Matchmakers Meddling: Cosmos

"Come on, Turntech Butthead, answer the question!"

"You call me that one more time and I will personally kick your butt into next week."

"Don't bite the hand that feeds you, Turntech Butthead."

John and Dave sat in the study section of the library on a Monday afternoon, a wide array of books sprawled out across the table.

"Henri Becquerel was….he was… I forget, I have no idea. Freakin' brainfart."

"He was one of the major pioneers in the discovery of radioactivity! And the inspiration for Jade's dog's namesake."

Dave slammed his forehead against the table and groaned.

"This is hopeless."

"Hey, don't say that! You know that Jade digs smart dudes, and I believe that with a little more practice, we can totally trick her into thinking you're one."

"Ugh."

"Look, you've got a whole week, okay?"

"A week? What do you mean? A week until what?"

"Were you not listening to me earlier?!"

"No. After that crash course on thermodynamics, I was just trying not to have my brain explode."

"You don't have to_ understand_ the material, Dave," John explained, "I sure don't! Just… recognize it enough to impress Jade. Idea: just say the word 'boondoggle' a lot when you talk to her and maybe she'll think you're smart."

"What does that even _mean_?"

"Heck if I know! Anyway, about Saturday, Rose arranged for the four of us to go down to Queen's Peninsula."  
"What?! You mean, like, the amusement park?"

"That's gonna be your big chance to woo Jade! The moment of truth! And we'll be right there to help you out."

"No, no, no. No way. This is the worst idea I have ever heard in my whole life. I'm out."

"I'll tell Jade about the song," he mocked in a teasing voice.

"I hate you so much, Egbert."

John only laughed in response.

"Come on, we haven't even touched on Mendel's theory of quantitative genetics within plant hybridization yet."

"SOMEONE SAVE ME."

/ . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . /

Jade sat wrapped up tight in the warmth of a pile of blankets, courtesy of Rose.

"Hehe," Jade giggled lightly, "I'm like a Jade burrito!"

"Jade, you're the epitome of silliness sometimes." Rose smiled, bemused at her friend.

"Hey! Don't say it like it's a bad thing!"

Rose sat on the adjacent couch, knitting away on what Jade thought to be a complicated-looking endeavor. Her pale, nimble fingers worked tirelessly away, moving all four of the needles in a circle.

"That's kind of amazing, you know."

Rose looked up from her work, but didn't stop knitting.

"What? Not really. It's easy once you get the hang of it."

"How are you knitting with all those little needles at once?!"

"Simple. It's called knitting in the round, and I'm just making a pair of socks."

"More like a work of art! Look at all that detail…I tried to knit once a long time ago. I can't really remember any of it. I don't think I got too far!"

Jade sniffled a bit, not yet fully recovered from her cold spell. She had felt really guilty about having Rose come over and keep her company when she wasn't completely better yet, but Rose wasn't taking no for an answer. She had even brought soup! And after all, who could say no to the delicious steaming broth of friendship?

"I could teach you easily. Give me five or ten minutes and you could be cranking out teapot cozies in no time."

"I'll take you up on that offer!"

Rose patted the vacant space on the cushion next to her, gesturing her to move seats. Jade broke free of her blanket cocoon, emerging to the other couch. Rose opened her bag and pulled out a much larger set of bamboo needles and a new skein of heather gray yarn, plopping it in Jade's lap.

"W-wait! You can't just give me this! This stuff is yours!"

"Consider it a little gift, friend to friend. Besides, I practically live in knitting supplies. I think I can allot one measly set of needles and a ball of yarn. "

Jade huffed but gladly accepted.

"Fiiine. Guess I'll just have to pay you back later, somehow."

She unfurled the label off of the yarn and took the end of the string in her fingers, patiently waiting for direction from Rose.

"We have to cast-on now," she explained.

"Cast-on?"

"Yep. Casting on sets the loops on the needle, like this-"

In a flash, Rose wiped the yarn around her thumb to form a slipknot and only seconds later had she crafted a row of perfect stitches. It happened so fast, and watching her do it was like witnessing some ancient form of magic as her fingers trailed the yarn around in perfect formation. It took Jade several times to get it herself, and far less gracefully, but after further instruction she was soon forming knit stiches and purling well enough to avoid bringing dishonor to the Lalonde name. The two of them sat together, the sound of chatter and cold metal needles clinking together filling the room.

"So," Rose began, "Got any plans this week?"

"Well, I've been dog walking."

"Dog walking?"

"Yeah! To raise money for the club! I'm making all kinds of progress, y'know. We're practically almost in the clear!...well, okay, I've still got a ways to go but…progress is progress!"

"What about attendance, though, Jade? We have you, me, John, and Terezi."

"…yeah," Jade sighed, "That is a problem, isn't it? I'm going to have to find _some_ way to boost the attendance…hey! Maybe I'll just snag some members from Dave's dumb thing! He's got way more than enough." She laughed at the idea.

"Speaking of Dave," Rose casually shifted topics, "He's coming with us this weekend."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Jade questioned, incredulous. "We're going somewhere?"

"We're going to the amusement park. John's coming too, naturally."

"What?! When was this decided?!"

"We just forgot to tell you, of course."

Her poker face was infallible, a skill that was quite unfortunate in Jade's favor and fabulous on Rose's behlaf. What was she up to? Jade grew tense. This seemed very suspicious- since when did they ever forget to fill her in on stuff like this?

"So why are we inviting my rival?!"

"Oh, do you object to it? I thought you two got along rather well."

"Well, yeah, as of recently I mean, but…"

"So there's no problem!" Rose grinned, a teensy grin that sent Jade over edge with curiosity. Rose was hiding _something_, but what?

"Why Dave, though!? I mean, seems like you guys just invited him out of nowhere."

"Goodness sakes, Jade. We just thought some new group dynamics might be fun."

Jade narrowed her eyes a bit, suspicious.

"And hey, he's pretty darn cute. Such a cool kid. I quite fancy him. Don't all the girls?" Rose giggled, smirking all the while.

"W-what?!"

Wait, what? Was she just kidding? Rose wasn't really prone to that sort of jesting. She wasn't particularly flirtatious, either…or was she? All of Rose was just one big mystery. Was it really possible that she had a crush on Dave? Was this really happening? This absolutely, no way, no how, perfectly, could not, should not be happening. Surely this had to be some paradox in the fabrics of spacetime itself! Rose liking Dave like that was just…ugh! No! No, no, no, no, no. How was Jade supposed to compete with Rose Lalonde? Scratch that- Rose was her friend, there was no way she could go up against one of her most tried and true friends. But…oh, Dave. Dear, sweet, precious, sarcastic, horrible Dave. There was that other matter that had just been brought to her attention; she hadn't really paid much attention to the matter of him being popular with the ladies, to which she was now aware. What a powerfully painful smack to the face, beckoning her back to reality.

"Jade? Jade, what's wrong? Jaaaade?"

Her knitting needles had begun clacking together in a nervous frenzy, the yarn situated into a tangled wreck. Never knit while panicking.

"Hm?...oh, sorry! I guess I was just, uh…thinking."

"That's the most intense thinking I've ever seen."

"I guess."

"Is something the matter, Jade? You're looking flushed. Do you need to lie down?"

Her head was spinning, feeling stupid from getting worked up over the teenybopper drama.

"Yeah."

/ . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . /

"ROSE!" John was positively miffed as he whined into the phone. "Are you just TRYING to ruin our plan?!"

"You said to plant the metaphorical seeds of suggestion and plant them I did."

"You were supposed to get her thinking that maybe, just maybe, Strider_ isn't _the complete dork that he is! Instead, you got her to think you're making goo-goo eyes at him! Ugh!"

Her nose crinkled up as she couldn't help but suppress a smile. "My sincerest apologies, but just trying to pretend he's anything but a dweeb is quite the daunting task. You should be thanking me for my superb acting abilities, John."

"No, Rose! I'm not! I spend all day coaching this dude on everything Jade related, which is a complete undertaking in itself, but then I find out that it might all be for nothing!"

"Alright, so, I overdid it. But I swear I'm going to fix it in equal amounts that I've messed it up."

The most exasperated of sighs escaped John's breath.

"Okay. We've got one week. I'll get him primed for Saturday as much as I can, and you undo whatever nonsense you've created with my cousin. Sounds like a plan?"

"Sounds like a plan. Oh, I do _so_ love playing matchmaker."


	11. A Plan in Motion: Bird of Paradise

The remainder of the week taught Dave the theory of relativity better than John ever could have. It practically flew by, feeling like only a handful of minutes as the day of destiny approached; likewise, the dreadful lesson sessions felt like an eternity in themselves. The endurance of the boy had most certainly been tested, and the annoying, persistent echoes of John's advice rang in his head. Despite having nervously sat up the night before, he was wide awake today, simultaneously feeling extremely prepared and horribly unready.

Unbeknownst to him, Jade's feelings greatly paralleled his own as she fiddled with the buttons of her blue cardigan. It was layered over a lacy pink camisole top and the ensemble was paired with a black pair of capris. She'd done her best to look cute for the occasion, or at the very least, look presentable.

"Guys! Let's ride the bumper cars first!"

John lead the gang through the entrance crowd, away from the hustle bustle of the front of the park, and back towards the fair-style rides. The sounds of cheery carnival music filled the ears of passerbys, and the mouthwatering caused by the sweet scent of freshly baked funnel cake wafting through the breeze was inevitable. Sheer excitement stirred in the air and fun surrounded them from every angle.

Jade and Dave had hardly said two words to each other; on the way up, Rose had driven (being the most responsible driver of the group) and John had called shotgun, leaving the two awkwardly together in the backseat. Aside from a stammering "hey" and "hello," they had resorted to staring out their respective windows, quite the contrast from the last time they had taken a ride together. Jade couldn't understand what had come over her; some newfound wave of nervousness had washed across her soul, rendering her quiet. She had desperately searched for something to say- _anything to say_- but the words bubbled up on the tip of her tongue and absolutely refused to come out. She felt as if she did say something, her face would flush a mighty red and she'd make a giant mess of things for sure. She wondered what was on Dave's mind as he glared out the window…so cool. She'd hoped Rose and John hadn't forced him to go today. It was the weekend, and he probably had lots of coolkid stuff to do, jams to make, places to go, people to see…

"Wow! No line!"

Her cousin's voice had freed her from the morning memory as she looked up to see John running ahead onto the ride just moments before it was going to start, dragging Rose along with him. There didn't seem to be enough room for all of them. Both John and Rose had situated themselves into separate cars respectively (with a war taunt of "I'm gonna kick your butt, Rose!"), but there was only one bumper car left.

"Well, even though no one does it…they're supposedly two-seaters, right?"

She looked over at Dave for the first time that morning, feeling a little backward.

"Y-yeah, I think so…in theory, anyway!"

"Let's test it out, then."

She hesitantly approached the right side of the cart, cramming herself inside; it was a very tight fit as she smooshed up against Dave. She cursed her flighty heart as it beat a million miles an hour, loud enough that everyone within a twelve mile radius could probably hear it. Dave still wasn't making any effort to converse and she couldn't make eye contact and everything was just so incredibly awkward as they were jammed tightly together in the crappy old bumper car.

"Sorry, I'm squishing you, aren't I?" She would have been twiddling her thumbs, if she could have moved her arms.

"Nah. This is…this is kinda…boondoggling, though."

"….what?"

"I have no idea."

She couldn't help but burst into laughter at the ridiculous statement (of which she had no idea what it meant). Out of her peripheral vision, she could have sworn a teensy little smile played on the edges of Dave's lips.

The buzzer beamed, beckoning the ride to come to life, and the cars sputtered awake.

"I've got the gas and you've got the steering," Jade exclaimed, "So let's boondoggle it up in here, yo!"

"Oh, believe me," he assured, "We're going to boondoggle it as hard as we can."

She couldn't stop her giggling as he began steering manically, her foot slammed down on the gas pedal. Before she knew it, Dave had expertly maneuvered the bumper car traffic and they were tailing John into a corner.

"YO," Dave hollered, "ROSE! SOME HELP?"

"Gladly."

And just like that, the snarky deadpan blonde and the boondoggling duo had trapped a very irritated John into a corner and were repeatedly ramming into him.

"HEY! KNOCK IT OFF!"

They bumped into him over and over and over, Rose and John just about falling out of their cars- however, for a certain pair of teens, there was barely a hint of any movement at all, considering how jam-packed close to each other they were…not that either one of them was complaining. Far, far from it.

/ . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . /

They made their way to the 'Ghoul Getters' next. To call it a ride in the 'haunted house' genre was a title applied loosely, considering it was more of a shoot-em-up mobile ride geared towards families, but still a pretty fun time nonetheless.

"Alright, it's two per car in here," Rose observed as they entered.

"Okay, so you and John and me and Ja-"

"Nope! I call Jade for this one."

"W-what?!" The two boys objected in unison.

"No way, Rose," Dave exclaimed, "You can't force me to ride this with Egbutt."

"Ha," John scoffed, "Like I'd wanna ride this with you, Turntech Butthead!"

Dave drew it a sharp breath at the mention of that username, and it was clear after John had said it that he hadn't meant to. They both turned to Jade wide-eyed, wondering if she had any inkling of the reference.

"…haha! Boys are so weird!" She nudged Rose. "Let's get a move on, then!"

The boys let a simultaneous sigh of relief, thankful. Rose and Jade scampered ahead of them to the front of the queue line, once again avoiding a line. _Perfect timing, _Jade thought.

The two girls boarded their seats and the side door slammed shut, with Dave and John boarding the cart behind them. The ride cars had an overhang to them, concealing the entire back of the cart. The ride moved forward, advancing them into the dark. Jade reached in front of her and took the little laser gun out of the holster, ready to hit the targets.

"Jade."  
"Huh?"

"I don't like Dave…not romantically, at least."

"What?! Rose, where did that come from?!"

"Honesty is the best policy, is it not?"

"B-but, I thought…."

"I suppose I gave you the very wrong idea on Monday. Sorry for that."

"W-well, gosh, I…that's…um…"

She may have been a stammering mess on the outside, but on the inside, she was rejoicing. Talk about a wonderful turn of events! Jade had to admit she'd been pretty stupid for thinking Rose liked Dave in the first place, though. The fact that she didn't was kind of a no-brainer, if she really thought about it…

"Ah," Jade exclaimed with sudden realization, "We're not even playing the game!"

The targets and ghosts and blacklight scenes whizzed all around them, a dramatic display of silliness. Jade laughed to herself.

"Y'know, this ride is kind of silly…well, except for that ONE room!"

"The one where it's pitch black and all you can see are little beady red eyes and mutilated statues?"

"Yeah! That exact one! I hate it SO much!"

"The one we're about to enter in a few moments?"

"Yeah!"

Rose did something really strange. She started shifting herself upward, pulling her legs out and putting her knees on the chair.

"R-rose?! What are you doing?!"

"No worries, Jade."

It was precisely at that moment that she heard the maniac laughter of her cousin in the not too far off distance, accompanied by a frustrated Dave Strider…ugh, what was going on? What was Dave saying? She could barely make it out over the sound effects and music of the haunted house. She could easily make out the word "don't." Don't what? Don't….oh.

Oh.

John was jumping out of the ride! And so was Rose!

"Toodles. I do believe I've got a John to chase after."

With a signature Rose wink, she hopped right out of the car and disappeared to wherever in the world she was going.

Jade began to feel very nervous as the ride inched forward into the scariest room, all by herself. Ugh, why did Rose do that?! And her idiot cousin…what was wrong with those two and their crazy plans?!

She grabbed the handle bar in front of her and closed her eyes tight. It'd be over soon enough…she'd always hated this part, ever since she was a little girl.

_Thump._

She could have screamed at the sudden noise, doing her very best to suppress her yelps as she gripped the front of the cart for dear life and shut her eyes as tightly as possible, breaking into a cold sweat.

"J-jade?!"

Dave's voice?

She opened her eyes to the sight of her new ride partner. Boy, these two seemed to be forming every kind of partnership these days. The irony.

"Dave!" A massive smile from ear to ear escaped her control. He had ride-hopped to be with her? She had never been more thankful for someone breaking the rules in her life.

The ride stopped, stranding them in the eerie darkness save for the red 'eyes' of the zombies or skeletons or whatever the heck these deformed looking prop things were supposed to be. She felt a slow, warm, sort of shaky hand wrap around her shoulder. Hm…was Dave scared of this, too? He had to be for him to be having a spasm like that. That's the only explanation. He gave her shoulder a tight, reassuring squeeze.

"Don't worry…I'm here…nothing to be afraid of, except for maybe that gaggle of idiots jumping out at us. But come on, who would ever be scared of Egdork, am I right? Even though he's the reason they had to stop the ride like this in the first place. Pfft."

Without thinking, she had positioned herself to be as close as she could possibly get to him, becoming drawn in by the warmth of his voice. Her head found its way to his chest.

"O-oh, um, hey there…"

"…Ah! I'm s-sorry, I'm an idiot," she panicked in a nervous heap, immediately pulling back as fast as she could. What was she doing?

He pulled her head right back with the hand that wasn't wrapped around her shoulder.

"It's…it's cool."

Jade had never, ever been so thankful for the darkness. She had become the dreadful, scarlet blushing mess she'd so desperately worried she'd become earlier. She was so close, close enough to detect hints of some enticing, clean smelling cologne or body spray or man scent or whatever the heck it was. Mmmm. Man stonk. Eau d'Dave. She grinned maddeningly and took a secret light breath, breathing in his familiar scent and relishing in it. She felt like the biggest pervert, but also the luckiest girl in the whole world as her heart took staggering beats.

"U-ugh, it's so s-scary in here, all these beady, creepy, demonic red eyes…"

UGH! No, of all the things to say while rambling, that is the worst thing! Why not just take out a lighter and set yourself on fire, Jade? That'd be infinitely better than attacking the one major insecurity he had entrusted you with!

"I m-mean, the eyes, they aren't beautiful like yours or anything, because your eyes are my favorite things in the world! Because they are, well, ruby red or tea rosered and _these_ eyes are red like the blood of innocent hikers in the woods red and they're not pretty at ALL, not one bit! I-I just, I am just totally in love your eyes, okay?!"

He was silent, a silence that filled Jade's soul with pain and guilt to the very brim. The guilt hung in the air and left her throat heavy and her eyes sad. It felt like it lasted eons, and she mentally kicked and tortured and beat herself up. And then, he was chuckling wholeheartedly.

"You're really something, Harley."

"I…I'm so sorry, holy crap, I hate myself, I hate myself so much…"

He couldn't stop laughing, and she desperately longed to see his expression. The laughter sounded genuine enough, but with him, you could never tell.

"Don't ever change, Jade."

And with that, the ride began to inch forward again and he had rendered her absolutely speechless.

/ . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . /


	12. Date of Destiny: Forget-Me-Nots

Many a ride later, the sparkling orange sun had begun to set in the sky, leaving behind a fantastic lights show in the form of the dusk sunset. Much of the park's crowd had begun to stratify and depart, but the four kids were as energetic as ever.

"I can't believe you screamed the whole time, John!" Jade held her stomach as she burst with laughter as the group walked together.

"Hey, the carrousel is a _very_ intense ride!"

The gang had, in fact, reunited after the haunted house incident- and surprisingly, not much was said in regards to the happy little endeavor, greatly pleasing John and Rose, who took it as the obvious sign that it had been a success. After that, they had decided to kick it down a notch in regards to their schemes for the rest of the day, seeing as how well things were going.

They had reached the next ride, which had a sizeable line, even as the time grew late. Jade looked up at the sign, which read _The Red Miles _in the most intimidating way a series of eleven letters can possibly be written. Just past the sign was the ride itself: so tall and steep that she had to crane her head all the way back and glare up at it and its unforgiving loops, its horrifying mountain-esque drops, and the deterrent twists and turns. It must have traveled at the speed of light- one hundred and eighty one miles a second of the harshest thrashing and shaking the world had ever seeing. Why, surely the psychical limitations of a person's being would be tested to the max. This thing wasn't a piece of machinery, it was an ungodly beast. Jade stood frozen, quaking in her shoes. The blood drained from her face and her stomach performed backflips.

Dave picked up on her reaction immediately.

They took their place in the queue line.

"_Ooo!_ _You can't escape the Red Miles_," John echoed in an eerie voice with a rather spooky expression as Rose laughed.

Jade broke into a silent panic. No one else seemed to give even a second thought about getting on this. Rose and John talked, snarking and wise cracking back and forth at each other with nary a care in the world. Dave seemed fine too as he listened in on their conversation, making a slight remark and there (and unbeknownst to her, peering over at her from behind his shades). They had only ridden one coaster that day, and it was barely qualifying as a roller coaster- more like a really fast golf cart on rails! No, she could _not_ do this. They inched forward in line.

"Wow, this line is moving remarkably fast," Rose noted. "We'll be the next ones on at this rate."

Jade felt the contents of her stomach slosh together and her heart fell as fast as the _Red Miles_ itself. _Just say it, stupid!_ Her thoughts were even louder than the screams of those on board the ride. _Just tell them you don't want to go! You can't go!_ The fear within had pooled into her eyes, irises ablaze with tremulous terror. This was peer pressure at its finest, wasn't it?

The clicks of unlocking harnesses released the old passengers, releasing the victims from its grasp and welcoming new ones. No sound could have inspired more horror than that for Jade. It would be embarrassing to back out, right? John would call her a chicken. She wouldn't look cool in front of Dave at all. Rose would probably try to convince her that it'd be fine, it'd be over soon enough, come on now Jade…

The ducts of her eyes began to feel wet and heavy.

_Don't you dare cry, Jade Harley! COME ON, BACK OUT!_

All the while she was lost in the downward mental abyss, the blond boy watched with great concern out of the corners of his eyes. He'd already seen one scared Jade today, and as far as he was concerned, that was enough for a lifetime. Besides, the way she was "scared" in the haunted house was more like mild irritation and a general feeling of being creeped out. This right here was pure trepidation. She was so painfully obviously terrified, and yet, she hadn't said a single word. He wondered why in the world she had remained silent. Probably because she was just so dang determined; determined to keep up with all her friends, prove them she was fine, conquer fears, all that jazz.

"I'm out."

They all turned to look at him.

"What? Are you chicken?!" John began the ever so predictable teasing dialog.

"Yeah, sure. Whatever. Come on Jade, let's ditch these nerds."

He slunk under the metal bars keeping the line in order and Jade followed, climbing over them, smiling from ear to ear.

John and Rose watched them walk away together, heading off to who knows where.

"You know, they are pretty cute together," John admitted as they were corralled into the seats.

"Sure," Rose agreed, "Almost as cute together as two other weirdoes I know." The restraining harnesses came down over them and snapped in place.

"Wait, what?"

"Hm, you know? Dave was onto something. The _Red Miles_ is the scariest ride here."

"Rose, what were you saying earlier?!"

The ride began rolling forward, an incline so steep it was almost straight.

"John! We're so stupid for riding this! Oh my gosh."

They reached the top.

"But Rose, what were you-"

And the screams were so loud, you could hear them from a million miles away.

/ . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . /

They walked together, bathed in the soft fading light of the sunset.

"Thanks for that, back there…" Jade rubbed the back of her head bashfully, glaring down at her shoes.

"No worries, it's nothing. They'll probably wet themselves, anyway. Strike that, John probably already pee'd his pants on the carousel."

The two laughed.

"You know, you seem to always swoop in and save me at the most opportune moments."

"Huh?"

"Whether it's from my lack of glasses or haunted houses or peer pressure, you always come through! You're just my knight in shining armor, I guess." She smiled sheepishly.

A pair of ruby red eyes grew wide concealed behind shades, and the only thing redder than those were his cheekbones.

Jade stood awkwardly in the little silent moment, regretting saying something so embarrassing and stupid. Classic Jade moment.

"S-so!" She exclaimed, trying desperately to clear the air. "I'll…I'll make it up to you!"

She pointed over to the glowing light of an open snack kiosk with great excitement.

"Let's get us some junk food, it'll be my treat!"

Unzipping her pants pocket, she took out a few dollars.

"What do you want?"

"No, it's cool, I don't need anything-"

"Tell me!"

"No way, Jade, I can't let you buy me food-"

"It's gonna happen whether you like it or not, so you might as well tell me what you want before I get you something nasty!"

He sighed, a telltale sign of defeat.

"You're not gonna give up, are you?"

She simply smiled in response.

"…..chocolate ice cream." He folded his arms across his chest in frustration.

"Hi," she greeted the worker lady, "I want one chocolate ice cream cone and one pink cotton candy!" Jade slapped the money on the counter in return for the food.

The pair found themselves at a little bench.

"Here you go! I didn't know you liked chocolate ice cream!"

"Y-yeah…thanks."

Jade shoved the sugary sweet pink delicacy into her mouth, wondering why the heck Dave was acting so darn_ weird_ today. He would randomly spout out the most random vocabulary in conversation (such as the great boondoggling incident), and bring up the strangest conversation topics. He wasn't always like this, was he? Why would he act like this? Did she smell sweaty? She wished nobody was around so she could sniff her armpits. She probably smelled like a dog or something.

She peered over the top of her enormous cotton candy to steal a peak at Dave. She'd never seen anybody eat ice cream so _cutely_. He took little licks around the edges, combating the melty drips with his tongue barely leaving his mouth. She continued to devour her snack at a frighteningly fast pace.

"V-velocity."

"…hmm?"

"The terminal velocity of the _Red Miles_. I wonder how much it is."

And here we go again!

"I didn't know you were so into physics, Dave!"

"Yes. That's me. Mr. Science himself. Chemistry and all that crap just blows me away. Guess you could say I really drop the 'base'."

Jade laughed so hard that the cotton candy in her mouth almost flew out right out. That was the Dave she knew and loved, not this wacko science-y charade thing he'd been trying to pull today.

Several bad puns and two stomachs full of sugar later, their time on the park had almost set.

"This has been an amazing day."

"'Has been?' Who says its over?" Dave questioned.

"But-"

"Come on, we've got time for one last ride, don't we?"

"Well, if you think we have the time, I'm all for spontaneity! Although, shouldn't we find John and Rose first?"

"No," Dave retorted a little too enthusiastically. "I mean, they're probably barfing their guts up right about now. Anyway, what do you wanna ride?"

She giggled. "Hey! You're the one who brought it up! But, if it's my choice…there."

She pointed to the one thing Dave was fervently hoping she would not pick: the Skybreaker. It might not have been classified as a "thrill ride," but you propel yourself up three hundred and fifty feet in the air on a giant swing and say it's not a thrilling experience. Especially since being slung around up in the atmosphere with bugs and wind and who knows what did not exactly sound like a romantic experience, especially when you weren't particularly fond of heights. After all, this was supposed to be his big moment, what John had trained him for. This was it, and he'd be getting an earful from the meddling matchmakers if he did not live up to expectations. He took a gulp and wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans.

"Skybreaker? Cool. Let's go."

The seats were (rather to his advantage) in pairs- you'd be strapped in with a partner. Before getting situated, the ride's operator instructed any lose articles to be stored in the little cubby holes- being the highest ride in the park and people generally being stupid, incidents of objects being dropped and thrown had called for more secure safety measures- including the removal of glasses. Go figure. Dave sighed and reluctantly removed his shades, a heinous act he would have never performed if it hadn't have been for the fact that it was Jade, after all, and that it was dark out. He sat them in the cubby hole, right next to Jade's glasses- wait, where was Jade's glasses?

She stood with furrowed brows, an ambivalent look plastered on her face.

"Jade? Everything okay?"

"…oh! Yeah, sorry, I guess it's just…"

"Just what?"

She gave a little displeased frown. "Well, I guess…I just feel really stupid looking without my glasses, okay?"

The irony! He couldn't keep from letting an amused laugh out.

"I promise you're not going to look 'stupid.' It'll be fine, okay? This is coming from Mr. Demon Eyes himself."

She still looked very dissatisfied.

"Please take your glasses off?"

"…ugh! I just…"

"Jaaaade. Come on, Jade."

Before he even had time to gather what he was doing, he had gently placed his hands on both sides of her glasses, slowly slipping them off and setting them right next to his own.

They were ushered into their seats by ride attendees trying to speed up the process of the last rides of the night and go home. As they waited to be buckled up, Jade couldn't help but smirk as she pondered.

"You know, back at the aquarium field trip, I had to persuade you to take off your glasses, and now, you had to persuade me to take off mine!"

"Oh. Heh, that's true."

During the silence, he found himself racking his brain for something smart sounding to say- he had to impress her, build up the moment. _What would Rose say, what would Rose say…_

"The construction of this ride is so…so…avant-garde," he mused, "It's not particularly byzantine in terms of execution, is it?"

She just stared at him through confused, blurry eyes. Crap. He'd messed up, hadn't he? What he wouldn't have given for someone to swoop in and help him out. Everything he'd said tonight had felt like one big, uncomfortable disaster.

"Dave," Jade began gently. "You don't usually talk like that…"

"Well, I'll have you know I'm pretty well-educated and-"

"No, no! I'm not doubting your intellect! I just…I don't think that's you at all."

"What's not me?"

"Talking all 'hmm yes, let's analyze the intense dichotomy between the amusement park demographics today,'" she explained in a silly, stuffy accent.

"I, uh-"

"I mean, I don't wanna be rude or anything! But I feel like…the you when we went to the aquarium, I felt like that was the true you!"

He stared at her, speechless and bewildered.

"And," she continued, "that was the you I really liked! Oh, I, um, I mean, the you I really liked to hang out with and, oh g-gosh, not that I'm not totally enjoying intellectual type you, it's just…"

She quit rambling and exhaled, composing her words.

"Boy, I sure do a lot of rambling, don't I?" She grinned sheepishly.

"What I mean is, I just want you to be the real you. That's the best you." She flashed the most heartwarming, genuine smile that it was as though she was ripping his heart out right through his chest.

The words had been stolen from him, his heart full and his mind blank. He honestly couldn't think of a single thing to say back as he stared at her, feeling more vulnerable then than he ever felt in his entire life. No shades to mask his true visage, no stoic façade to shroud his feelings.

They began to rise- up and up and up, the bright lights of the park shining brilliantly in the dark. Even without her glasses, Jade could catch blurs of sparkling luminescence and gawked in its beauty. They continued rising, feeling like they would never reach the top. They were up so high, it felt like they would rocket right out of the atmosphere and reach space, hitting stars on the way. Everything beneath them looked teeny tiny. Even the _Red Miles_ looked like a little toy in stark contrast to the height.

The chilly breeze caressed them as they flew in circles, a strange mixture of relaxation and enchantment.

"Pretty amazing, huh, coolkid?"

She flashed him another smile and he melted.

"Y-yeah."

"Hey, you're not scared, are you?!" She giggled. "S'okay if you are. Even the bravest of knights get scared sometime!"

She laced her hand with his own, and his entire face turned the colour of his eyes. This was his chance to tell her, tell her how long he'd pinned away for her- even when she didn't have the slightest idea of who he was. Becoming her 'rival' had been the best thing to have happened; she had finally realized he existed, that there was a name to the face.

"Hey, Dave…" her expression molded into a far more flustered one. "I…I really like you, y'know? Like, _really _like you…."

Right here, right now. This was his chance. He could not ask for a better moment.

He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He felt sick to his stomach, in pure ecstasy that she was even just holding his hand- crap, he was so behind, wasn't he? This was probably easy for other kids his age. He'd never even had a girlfriend before, and it probably didn't help that the only coaching he'd ever received was either from his playboy brother or the biggest dork in town.

Jade had felt so awkward, regretting saying what she had immediately after it had been met with that reaction. So he didn't feel the same way, did he? They had begun to go back down, which she was incredibly thankful for. She felt like a fool, a fool who had thrown her heart out there only to have it be thrown right back in her face.

They reached the ground, Dave still dazed and in his weird trance, Jade holding back waterworks.

She snagged her glasses and slipped them on, exerting herself to a ridiculous level of peppiness to mask her actual heartbroken state.

"That was fun! Let's go find John and Rose, yeah?"

She walked in front of him, keeping a steady pace of _holy crap I'm so embarrassed stay away from me_.

/ . / . / . / . / . / . / . /

Upon meeting up with their friends, Jade had practically jumped into Rose's arms.

"Hello Jade- whoa there!"

"Ah ha, good old Rose! So glad to see you!" She buried herself into Rose's shoulder blades in the biggest bear hug ever.

"Jade?" Rose hugged her back, inquiring with a whispering tone, "Is everything alright? You're acting very peculiar."

There wasn't any response.

"Oh…I'll…I get it. We'll talk about it later."

John punched Dave in the arm.

"Hey, chicken!"

Heck, if only he'd known how much of a chicken he really had been.

The ride home was brutally strange, Jade demanding shotgun with Rose and Dave sitting on pins and needles in the backseat. The radio blared the entire time, the music helping her keep up with her charade. In the back seat, John had fallen asleep and was snoring.

"Haha, so much fun today! Okay, bye guys!" When they had reached her house, she had jumped out with great vigor and practically ran for the door.

"Harley, wait, I-"

From behind the closed door in the comfort and silence of her own home, the tears began to stream down her face.


	13. An Amalgamation of Sensations: Foxgloves

There was, in fact, a makeshift sleepover that night; such is the ordinance of broken hearted best friends. Immediately after Rose got back to her house, she had called Jade, having sensed that something had gone horribly wrong that day. Sure enough, her friend had found herself nursing hurt feelings and Rose drove right back over.

"A-a-and," Jade sobbed, "I'm so stupid for being sad, what's wrong with me?"

"Jade, Jade, it's okay. Shhh."

After hearing the full story, Rose found the ordeal incredibly silly- especially after the not surprising revelation of Jade's puppy love for Dave. What was surprising, however, was the extent of how fond she'd grown of him. Rose hadn't expected for her to like him just as much as he liked her; that was the real kicker. It seems as though it'd gone down like this: Jade, oblivious as ever, had no inkling or even idea that Dave liked her romantically. She had taken a major leap of faith and put herself- no, _thrown_ herself at full speed- out there, and he hadn't said anything back in response. Jade had reached the conclusion that he didn't feel the same way whatsoever and was caught dreadfully off guard, warranting the weird response he had given. How ironic, considering Rose knew very well that Dave was smitten with her friend, although she had no idea why he had acted so weird. There was most certainly a side of the story she was not getting.

The gears of thought churned quickly in Rose's mind. To tell, or not to tell? No. Rose wouldn't make it so easy. The idiot Strider had gotten himself into this mess, and darn it, he was going to get himself out. To have the news come from Rose's mouth and not Dave himself was incredibly anticlimactic, and knowing Jade pretty well, she probably wouldn't believe it anyways and would assume she was feeding her sweet nothingness to ease her pain. Accuse her of overcomplicating things, but with Rose, what else would you expect?

She patted Jade's back, doing her best to comfort her friend but not entirely knowing how to do so. This sort of thing wasn't exactly her specialty- analyzing problems and talking through issues, sure, that was a breeze. But calming down an embarrassed, emotional teenage girl? Not exactly. To say something like "you're way too good for that dork," or "what an idiot" would be counterproductive as Rose knew now how much Jade liked him, as well as that things were going to work out _somehow_ and dogging him was not a good move. Likewise, to go ahead and sprout syrupy sweet sentiments and cloying statements of Dave's true feelings would be a total cop out; that part was going to come straight from Dave's lips, even if she had to strangle him to get it out.

Rather than say anything at all, she simply picked up a box from the pile of DVDs and board games and other routine sleepover fodder on the floor.

"Shhh," she soothed, "Let's…let's not think about it at all for now, okay? Let's just play this blithely ridiculous game together and forget all about the stupidity of boys for a while."

Jade sniffled, ceasing her blubbering for a moment. "Boop-It ™?"

Ah yes, nothing heals a broken heart quite like a rigorous round of Boop-It ™. The game was eerily similar to Bop-It ™, the classic simon says style game beloved by millions; however, Rose and Jade had discovered this cheap, cheesy bootleg knock-off version at a local dollar store years ago, so entertained by it that they had to buy it. Since then, the nonsensical fun had become a tradition between the two.

Rose pressed the ugly Day-Glo orange power button, the paint chipping away. A familiar audio sound clip played out the speaker.

"_It is time to be playing the enjoyment of the new BOOP-IT! Prepare!"_

Even after all these years, they still laughed every time.

/ . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . /

"Dave, Dave, Dave. Do you always shatter the hearts of wanton young maidens, or is this a first?"

"I have no idea what happened. I froze up, okay?! I still have no idea of what to do or what's going on and I've barely slept since Saturday."

That Monday morning, Rose had cornered Dave first thing and began giving him the Spanish Inquisition. He had tried to get a hold of her all day Sunday, desperately seeking advice in any form in a panic. It was only now that she was getting the full story.

"She just…she started saying really weird things that surprised me and….wait. 'Shatter the hearts of wanton young maidens?' What do you mean by that?" The blood drained from his face, becoming pale.

"How much more bluntly can I put it? Let's see, hmm, other words for heartbroken off the top of my head: crestfallen, crushed, disappointed, miserable, sorrowful…"

An amalgamation of sensations tugged at his heartstrings; one being total and complete despair at the idea of having hurt Jade, and the other feeling being an overwhelming sense of ecstasy at the idea that she felt anything at all in reciprocation in regards to his feelings for her. He was going to be sick.

"I messed up, big time. I have to go, right now, I have to fix this!"

"Whoa there, buckaroo. Don't run out and screw things up again. We need to formulate a plan to salvage whatever left we can."

"I'm freaking sick of plans!"

"That was your first mistake: listening to John. What were you thinking? I don't know who is more of a goofball; you or him." She rubbed her temples.

"Well, newsflash: I didn't have much of a choice! I was blackmailed."

She sighed. "That's true. Look, here's what we're going to do: we're going to fix this, and as soon as we possibly can. Leave all your love problems to me from now on, okay? I'm not going to let you besmirch poor Jade's feelings anymore. Forget everything John told you, seeing as how it's all inadequate."

He could have slammed his head against the wall.

"Why should I be standing around?! I should run out there, run to her before class and-"  
"And what? Make a fool of yourself a second time?"

The insecurity stemming from his lack of experience gave him half a mind to listen.

"Alright," he admitted defeat, "Tell me what to say."

/ . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . /

Jade hadn't seen Dave all morning, not that she'd been looking for him. Quite the opposite.

She wasn't about to stay home- oh, far from that. Even though her heart felt raw and bruised and beaten, she wasn't about to let this dictate what she would or would not do. She'd realized now that Garden Club was top priority, and because she had slightly shirked this duty to lollygag around and make goo-goo eyes at a boy, she had ended up feeling this way. She was not about to make that mistake again.

But she couldn't shake this horrid, awful feeling. If first love had been heavenly, well, first heartbreak had been absolutely wretched. Stupid hormones! _This'll be the last time I'll ever let this happen_, Jade resolved.

The overcompensation of peppiness to cover up her inward state was very draining. She couldn't keep it up for long at all. Whether she'd realized it or not, she had been slumping around as though one singular grey rain cloud was following her overhead and she was without an umbrella. Her green eyes were filled with sadness as she trudged through the hallway to the bathroom.

"Jade?"

"Hm? Oh, hey Feferi."

The lover of all things aquatic stood before her on crutches; she had taken a recent leg injury in the pool and had to resign temporarily from leading the Swim Club. She was slow on her feet- er, crutches- but Jade had no doubt she'd be back into shape as soon as possible. You just cannot keep a girl like Feferi down even for short periods of time, a characteristic Jade was immensely envious of.

"Um, I was just wondering if everything was okay."

"Huh?"

"You seem awfully down this morning! Did some doofish try to mess with you?" Feferi giggled at her own fish pun, eternally amused with her nautical-themed wit.

"Oh, no, nothing like that. Thank you so much for asking, though!" Jade tried to give an earnest smile, but could tell it fell very flat.

"…okay, Jade! But I know something's wrong, and if there's anybody you can talk to about it, it's me, you min-know. Teehee."

"Thank you, Feferi," she repeated. "I guess I just…got rejected for the first time. That's all."

"What?!"

Before she knew it, Jade was enveloped in a semi-awkward, loving hug right there in the privacy of the bathroom. She wasn't sure whether it was this unexpected bout of kindness or the lack of sleep she got last night, but it was like the carefully constructed wall holding her emotions and thoughts and tears back had crumbled and crashed down. Big, wet tears rolled off her cheeks and dripped onto Feferi's hot pink sweater.

"I'm sorry, this is so embarrassing!"  
"No, not in the slightest! Relationships…they can be so tough. Bereef me, I know. You deserve to spill your feelings, okay? Don't keep them bottled up inside!"

Jade pulled away and wiped her tears off her face.

"Thank you so much. I needed that! I feel much better now," she thanked. "You're really cool, Feferi!"

"You too, Jade! And I know you'll feel better soon."

A vibrating came from the back pocket of the girl's jeans.

"Ugh! Eridan! Stop texting me!"

Jade gave a little laugh.

"Now, you wanna talk about a real doofish? He's locked himself out of his locker _again_! I'd better go help him," she smiled and crutched her way out of the bathroom, leaving Jade alone.

She waited for a few minutes, making sure the few tears she had cried were dried up enough that no one could tell. Her mind pondered, feeling heavy. She couldn't deny that this didn't change how she felt about Dave, and she hoped and prayed that he could forget the incident. She may not have been able to be the object of his affections, but if they could still be friends, she'd be grateful beyond belief to be with him. While she may have felt bittersweet, she wasn't angry or anything. There wasn't any way he would ever like a girl like her in the end, after all.

She headed back out into the hallways.

/ . / . / . / . / . / . /

By the time lunch period had rolled around, Dave had been a frantic mess. This was the moment of truth. He'd set everything right now.

He ran right for the outdoor gated area where he knew Jade would be; she always ate in the garden, naturally. He approached the doors, took a deep breath, and stepped out.

"Jade-"

"Nope! Just me, right now."

"Oh. Hey, Terezi. I didn't know you were in Garden Club."

"Yeah! Sorry about leaving the Apex, by the way."  
"Pssh. I couldn't care less. Music Club sucks anyway. Anyway, where's Jade?"  
"Well, John and Rose will be here in a second. They're always late, dorks. And Jade hasn't gotten her lunch yet, I gather. Should be here any second. As for me, I'm watering these peonies because she will kick my butt if I don't."

He chuckled, picturing Jade kicking butt over flowers; a wildly amusing thought. Like she was some sort of Lorax.

"Hand me another watering can, will ya? It's over there."

"Of course."

"Wait, Dave, watch out for those spades-"

Right on cue, he tripped over the little shovels on the ground, toppling downwards and taking Terezi with him. He had landed right on top of her, but thankfully, he had kept his arms out, stopping him and leaving his face inches away from hers.

"Hey, did you finish watering the peonies like I asked-"

No. NO!

Jade stood wide eyed and bewildered, staring down at the misunderstood scene on the ground with hurt in her eyes.

Dave pushed himself off the ground, springing upward in an instant. "Wait, no, Jade! I can explain!"

"I-I didn't know you two were dating….b-but regardless, Garden Club isn't make out time. I'll have to ask you two to leave if you keep it up."

She had to feign a calm attitude when she was really screaming and ripping her heart to pieces on the inside. _Nonchalant, Jade, just be nonchalant. Keep your cool as much as you can. _

"Jade, it's not what it-"

John and Rose came in at that moment, interrupting him as they discussed some matter with fervent intensity.

"Oh, hey, Jade! Ms. Paint wanted to see you in her office."

"T-thanks, John."

She took the opportunity gladly and got up, leaving her lunch at the picnic table and fleeing the scene.

"Wait!"

Dave ran after her.

"What just happened?," Terezi remained incredulously on the ground.

"What?" John and Rose gazed down at her.

"Intense junk, that's what."

"What do you mean? What's going on?" John questioned.

"Well, Dave tripped and landed on me and then Jade came in and thought we were making out and now I have a huge wedgie up my butt from that fall, gosh."

"WHAT?!" they cried in unison.

"Don't worry, I can just pull it out," Terezi assured.

John flipped his head back to Rose, continuing the argument from earlier.

"See?! All the more reason for us to take control! He literally messes up left and right when we don't help him!"

"No, he screws it up when we _do_ help him. Leave them alone, they'll work this out. At the very maximum, I'M the only one to be helping."

"But-"

"You had your chance, mister."

/ . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . /

"Jade! Stop, Jade, listen to me! It was an accident."

"I've got p-places to be, Dave, let me through- I don't care if you are smooching all over her, just don't do it in the dang garden."

"But I swear, I didn't mean to!"

"I saw it, no need to try to act like you didn't, sheesh. I won't get you in trouble as long as you knock it off."

"I. DIDN'T. DO. ANYTHING."

"Okay, okay! Cool. Now, toodles."

"No. No more running off! Jade…Jade, I…I like you, okay?"

He said it! He had really said it! No blushing or stammering. There weren't any theatrics or overly cloying sappy monologues. Just the truth.

She just stared at him.

"…do you think this is funny? Taking advantage of all the girls who take interest in you, like a joke? Not okay."

She wanted to break into furor, feeling incredibly angry at him. Who did this guy think he was?! All the anger she had felt from before came seeping back, oozing through her veins. She had to keep calm, keep cool. She'd been warned before about guys like this. Heck, even John had reassured her that he was no good! And if you can't trust your cousin, who can you trust? Jade bet he'd flashed his eyes and sweet smile at a whole bunch of girls, pulling the "don't tell anyone, this is our secret" act on a plethora of them. Every nuance and joke, it was all part of the grand scheme, wasn't it?! She had to hold back tears for what felt like the fortieth time that week. All Dave Strider came with was tears and pain and embarrassment, and she'd had enough. She asserted her way through the human barricade he had made and took off running, as though she were a child.

"J-jade! Come back, _please_ believe me, at least hear me out, Jade, don't-"

You just can't trust a Strider.

/ . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . /

The last time John had put a sneaky plan into action from the glow of his computer screen, it was to humiliate Dave. And now, somehow, he was working to save him.

The link clearly had a date and timestamp embedded within it- he wrote this song way before Jade was even talking to him. For once, Rose was totally wrong and he was right and his meddling was going to save the day.

John finished addressing the e-mail to his cousin and gave it one last look-over.

_Jade, _

_No one's putting me up to this or anything. Just thought you might like to give this a listen. _

_John_

He clicked 'send' and hoped for the best.


	14. Jade's Lullaby: Sweet Peas

"I'm sorry, Jade. But there's just not enough of an incentive to keep it going at this point."

"B-but, I almost have all the money raised, I just need a little bit more time!"

The woman rubbed her wrinkled temples, exasperated having to deal with the same old routine. Jade just wouldn't quit.

"Even if you did have adequate funds, between the equipment and the greenhouse and the additional costs, it's too expensive to operate."

"The Swim Club costs a ton more! So does Archery Club, and B-baking Club and…"

"Yes, but those clubs have a large attendance and serve much of the student body. Garden Club is, well…it's just too much for three people."

"No! We have four, remember?"

"Exactly. And compare that to a club like, say, Music Club, and you'll understand. If a club like that were to run low on funds, they have enough people that they could easily raise the necessary amount overnight! This is a big school, and a club like Music Club is the perfect example on how a cost-effective program works as it exists to serve many a member of the student body and…"

Great. Just great. The last thing she needed was to hear about _him_. How wonderful his dumb teenybopper nightclub was. Nothing musical happened in that club, probably; Jade wouldn't be surprised at this point if it were some sort of make-out hub. The Apex? No. More like The Love Shack. What a playboy.

"Please, _please!_ Just one last chance! One!"

She'd resorted to begging, feeling the impending doom approach; the hammer of fate was hanging over her head, ready to come crashing down and shatter her little oasis.

Ms. Paint let out a tired sigh.

"Jade, I gave it another chance an entire month ago. And one before that, even. Things are just not going to work out, hon."

"Please. One more week. That's all I need. I'll prove it's valuable, I promise."

Jade was locked in the long, pondering stare. This would be the moment of truth.

"Fine. One week."

She could have leaped for joy.

"Thank you, oh thank you! I'm so happy, you won't regret this!"

"You're a great student and a fine young lady, Miss Harley," she deadpanned. "But this is going to take a miracle."

/ . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . /

Despite barely making it into the clear, Jade couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the pressure. She lied in bed that night, mind racing. It really was going to take a miracle. A million blurry thoughts flashed through her exhausted brain. If she knew anything, it was that it was time to get down to business, no more play time. Why, if she hadn't been lollygagging around with a certain young man and her friends all this time, maybe she could have made more progress….she most definitely would not make the same mistake again.

She couldn't help but wonder: who was he really? There were two sides to him- the sweet, funny, boy that she believed to be her friend, and it was the side that had laughed with her and talked non-stop and absolutely won her heart. And then, there was the ice cold, stoic, distant persona that always took hold just when she was becoming used to the side she adored. Which Dave was the dominant one? Who was the real him? What a mess.

She was such an idiot; she couldn't stop being so attracted to him in every way possible, no matter how much her mind advised against it. Her allurement to him to him was magnetic, as well as totally illogical. There wasn't a single way it would work out with him; she was in love with the illusion of him, the bill of goods he'd sold her, the person she _thought _he was.

Stop thinking about him! There was only one week. One week.

There couldn't have possibly been a worse week either, seeing as how the annual informal fall dance shindig was being held at the end of it (put together by none other than the Apex. Ugh). No one would give two hoots about the fate of a bunch of flowers when the dumb dance was looming. Well, she was going to have to find a way to_ make _them care.

Today had been especially taxing on the nerves, and between the Dave disasters continuing and the final countdown beginning, she was plum tuckered out. She curled up cozy, doing her best to shut the trickling of the excessive stream of thought off, desperately needing answers and a plan of action that could only come after some much needed rest.

She couldn't stop contemplating the events of the day. A restless mind and a weary body are the mortal enemies of each other. She just wanted some answers, answers to anything. Lying in bed staring up at the ceiling in the dark, Jade was so confused and tired and felt entirely foolish. She made a feeble attempt to sleep, but her eyes fluttered open minutes later.

A starling vibration came from her night stand. The screen of her phone came to life, the bright screen searing her bloodshot eyes. A call from John's home phone was coming through.

"John, what's up? It's really late, is everything okay?"

"Jade," he whispered, "Did you check your e-mail today?"

"No? Wait, why are you whispering? You didn't sneak the phone up to your room again, did you?"

"No!...maybe…that's not the point!"

"Is the point that you need to get a cell phone sooner or later?"

"You know my dad won't let me! Ugh, this is completely beside the point- just, check your e-mail, okay?"

"Alright, sure thing. And then do you want me to call you back?"

"What? And have every phone in the house go off?! No way!"

"Okay then. I won't."

"How about_ I_ call_ you_ back in a few minutes? Sound good?"

"You're being awfully mysterious!"

"Just do it!"

She was left with the eerie sounds of a dial tone, perplexed by the secretive (and very suspicious) behavior of her cousin. Guess there was nothing left to do but to listen to his instructions. She propped herself up with the pillow and opened the e-mail app on her phone, growing more curious with each passing second. There was indeed a new message, addressed to her from John. It didn't have a subject title, and it seems as though it was sent with a sense of urgency about it.

_Jade, _

_No one's putting me up to this or anything. Just thought you might like to give this a listen. _

_John_

A link was attached, redirecting her to the familiar music site she had grown to know and love. She sat her phone down beside her for a moment, getting up to fumble around for her earbuds, her curiosity was at its peak, not knowing what to expect. Maybe it was a recording of fart sounds; that seemed like something John would send her. But would he really call her in the middle of the night for a recording of excessive flatulence? She highly doubted that. It just doesn't make for good prank fodder, and John was far more advanced in his trickery than that.

She plugged them in and placed them in her ears. The username of the uploader of whatever she was about to hear was "turntechGodhead." That struck an uncomfortably familiar chord with her…where had she heard that before? She racked her brain to find the memory of the pseudonym's recollection. It rung so many bells that it was practically a church tower's clock going off at noon. Wait, hadn't John referred to Dave as "Turntech Butthead" at the amusement park that day? He had, hadn't he! Or was she just imagining things? It was getting pretty late, after all, and exhaustion can play funny tricks on the mind.

The audio track was titled "Jade Green," which had an astonishing number of hits, plays, and likes. She recognized it as the song that had been front page material a long time ago, the song she'd never listened to. Wait a second…this was the song that Dave hadn't wanted her to listen to! The song that he said was the "gayest piece of crap he'd ever heard" and a "total waste of time."

She quickly hit the play button and began to put two and two together.

The most gorgeous sounds she'd ever heard poured into her ears and her tired eyes found themselves closing involuntarily. The beautiful aria was almost hypnotic. Warm, sweet strums of the guitar were played masterfully, hitting every note with unparalleled skill. It was the sort of tune that was so immediately enticing that you knew within the first five seconds of listening that you had a new favorite song. The intro began to drift into a soft ballad and the part that came next shook Jade to her very core.

Her eyes flung open at the unmistakable voice, shocked to find her hypothesis correct. It _was _Dave; you couldn't deny it. He sung like an angel, an angel with a raspy, deep voice that flowed like sweet rivers of honey and milk and doused your senses and drowned your heart.

_I watched her through winter and I watched her through fall, _

_I never picked up the phone and I sure didn't call,_

_Shyness is the death of me and she's my biggest regret of all._

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was it possible…could it be…he was singing about her? Could it really, truly be permissible in this vast cosmic universe that this incredible masterpiece was all about her?

_She's six million kinds of wonderful and there's never gonna be enough time,_

_My heart's locked up tight and she's the only key,_

_I'd take centuries to try and make her mine,_

_But a girl like that's too good and there's not a hope in the world for guy like me._

Tears began to stream down her face.

_She's a breath taker, a complete heart breaker,_

_Everything I wished I could have and everything I can't._

_There's not a single thing I wouldn't do if it meant I could just spend the day with you._

The melody transformed into the chorus and her tears continued without ceasing. John's call began to come through at that moment, and she dismissed it promptly. Nothing would tear her from this.

_Snapdragons blooming in the middle of spring; she's got beautiful eyes, such a bright jade green._

_She speaks her mind and she follows her heart, wanna be with her but it's like we're worlds apart._

_She's the sweetest June and I'm the coldest December, maybe there was a time that I didn't love her but I can't remember._

It was the purest, most heartfelt serenade imaginable and she was thoroughly, wholly, perfectly enraptured in it. His voice was a light and she was a moth. It was not an exaggeration to say that she repeated the song twenty times that night, because that was exactly what she did. It soothed her to sleep, becoming her lullaby as he sung her into dreams.

She couldn't wait to see him tomorrow.


	15. Blissful Ultimatum: Tulips

The stupid dance couldn't have been further from his mind.

"Yo, Prez! Where do I put these streamers?"

"I don't care."

_He just kept messing up._

"Hey, Strider- where does the punch bowl go?"

"Wherever."

_How does one person even make so many mistakes?_

"Daaaave! Tell Nepeta that drawing on the walls does not count as decorating!"

"Nepeta, don't do whatever weird thing you're doing."

_Was he ever going to catch a break?_

As club president, the role of DJ for the night would be all his. Maybe any other time, he would have been ecstatic to follow in his brother's footsteps, but not now. The only thing filling his mind was his past failures, replaying over and over. His brain was like a little movie theater of shame. When it came to Jade, he just kept screwing up six ways to Sunday.

Setting up this audio equipment was possibly the only thing he wasn't messing up, and hey! It was still early!

Getting things ready for this idiotic dance was the most degrading thing. In all actuality, it was supposed to be more of a hoedown, casual type thing, but the girls at the school never listened to the dress code and always chose to go all out silk and chiffon. Couples were prancing around school all lovey-dovey and happy, and it was only Tuesday. He could hurl. Disgusting. Lucky bunch of morons. If only everyone could be so lucky….

He couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to go to the dance with Jade. When it came to these events, he was always the DJ and never the date. He wouldn't know what to do even if he were able to attend as a normal guest; he'd mess that up too, without a doubt. However, that couldn't keep him from fantasizing about it. The scene of a dolled-up Jade Harley excitedly ascending from her staircase to meet him as he picked her up at her house played in his mind. He imagined laughing with her in his convertible, driving them out to dinner where they'd meet John and Rose for some fancy-shmansy food, or maybe just Olive Garden. He wouldn't care what they would eat. He pictured them arriving together, hand in hand, beaming. He'd lead her straight across the dance floor to his little platform, where she'd take co-pilot as he provided the music for the night. Poor little thing wouldn't even get to dance, just sit with him the entire time- not that she would mind at all. She'd smile and say "I'm just so happy to be with you!" and his heart would melt into drippy liquid and he'd smile and she'd return the expression, her noise pulling up into that adorable signature scrunch and he wouldn't be able to help himself, dragging her in for one little kiss and….

So this is how far he'd fallen? Sick, weirdo fantasies? Any sliver of respect or minuscule amount of fondness she'd had for him had probably flew out the window of a thirty story building. This was just downright embarrassing. He wished he were anyone but himself. He hated himself.

"Hey, Strider?"

He looked up to see one of his loyal club members: a girl with combed-over stringy brown hair, loud skater-punk style clothes, and a louder personality to match. Vriska Serket.

"Yeah?"

"You seem majorly grumpy today. Like, eight times more grumpy than even Karkat over there," she smirked, gesturing to a frustrated boy screaming his head off at balloons refusing to remain tied. "Something eating at you?"

Of all people to observe his current state and care, Serket was the last person he would have guessed to fill the role.

"Nah. S'all cool."

"About as cool as the Sahara. Don't try to fool me, Strider."

He exhaled, irritated to have to deal with her charades. He hadn't realized he'd been giving off such bad vibes; he hadn't felt this crappy in a very, very long time. Not since a certain red eyed kindergarten incident…

"It's nothing."

She shrugged, dropping the matter with ease. "A'ight. Later."

He silently suffered through the rest of the time (which would regularly be study hall) allotted for them to prepare. They'd met back in the gymnasium once again for regular Music Club time, and the cycle would repeat for the rest of the week. Getting things ready was a tedious process indeed.

The entire time, he couldn't help but sulk.

/ . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . /

"Jade! Jade, Jade, Jade!"

John chased her down the halls the moment the bell rang for lunch.

"Why did you not answer my calls last night-"

"Sorry, John!"

She smiled the most genuine, happy smile she'd smiled in her whole smiling career.

"I'm also sorry that I'll be joining you for lunch late today."

"Wait, what?-"

She placed her money in his open palm.

"Get me a calzone or something, okay? I'll meet up with you guys later."

"Jade, where are you going?! Wait! Did you even check your email?!"

She took off towards where Dave's last class had been, feeling more confident than she ever had and practically radiating happiness. She'd even worn her favorite outfit today for extra measure. Her jean pockets were BeDazzled with jewels, and who doesn't feel like they've got life by the horns when they are rocking some cheesy jewels on their butt pockets?

Her eyes frantically searched the room, looking for him and coming up tragically short.

"Oh! Hi Jade!"

"Hey Nepeta," she greeted the girl who was closing a drawing-filled cat notebook, getting ready to go to lunch herself. "Where's Dave? Did he leave already?"

"Hm? Oh, no. I think he's skipping it today!"

"What?! Why?!"

"I dunno why! He seemed pretty down in the dumps to me. My best bet is that he's in the gym, rigging up his turntables or whatever doohickeys he has!"

/ . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . /

She slammed the doors open and he jumped. His head whipped around to meet her gaze.

She figured that where words would fail her, actions would not. She rushed to him, arms stretched out wide, throwing them around his neck with great exuberance. Her arms wrapped themselves around him as tightly as they feasibly could, and the force of her run had caused them to transcend into a spinning hug.

He stood enveloped by her in shock. They were alone together, the walls of the giant gymnasium the only witness to the sweet embrace.

"I believe you, Dave! I'm so sorry to have doubted you!" Her words cried out in testament to her heart, oozing with passion and piety.

He stood flabbergasted, his mouth not knowing what to say but his arms knowing what to do; he returned the embrace, pulling her towards and gripping her against his chest.

"Also! The song you wrote, I just…I….oh, to heck with formalities. Let's just forego the theatrics right here: I love you, too, Dave!"

He tried to make words come out, but it was a jumble and mess of "I"s and "uh"s. He wouldn't let his surprised state get in the way of this, no siree. Nothing was going to remove her from his grasp. He ran his fingers through her long, thick locks, clasping her head and kissing the top of her hair. The newbie lovers remained entwined in the middle of the gym; while it may have been somewhat of an awkward stance, they were entirely, astonishingly, and utterly happy.

He was the first to break the silence with a soft trembling voice.

"I don't know what happened, but whatever did, I am so freaking thankful for it. I love you so much, Jade Harley."

She grinned and snickered, not letting go of him.

"Yeah? Well, I love you ten times more."

"Not possible."

He broke the embrace, much to her chagrin, placing his hands firmly on her shoulders and separating each other so he could gaze at her eyes. They each had a glowing, pink flush decorating their cheekbones and massive, goofy smiles.

She tipped his sunglasses up to the rest at the top of his forehead and gawked at him with unabashed admiration.

"You'd better believe it!"

Suddenly, she was secured back in his seize and he gave them a little spin, the pair laughing and guffawing and acting like complete crack ups.

"Jade," he sighed dreamily, "There's so much I wanna tell you, so much I wanna say…"

"Same for me," she agreed wholeheartedly, breath taken.

There was a brief pause before he stumbled out of his little trance and spoke again.

"T-this is the part where I ask you to be my girlfriend, I think," He grinned sheepishly, freckles compressing on his cheekbones.

Her expression fell a bit, a bittersweet look taking over. "I'm sorry, but I think that's going to have to wait."

He froze, smiling and staring at her with incredulous confusion. "What? I…"

"I can't have you be my boyfriend right now!"

"What the heck, Jade?! Why not?! Do you…not want me for a boyfriend or something?" He tilted his head to the side in confusion and glared with a pained expression.

"What?! No, no, no! I want you more than you have any idea, you ding dong! You'd be the most amazing boyfriend in all of history!"

"Well then, it's settled," he declared, placing his strong hands on the sides of Jade's face, closing his eyes, pooching out his lips, and pulling her inward for his very much awaited kiss.

"Ack! Dave, Dave, stop! Down, boy! Down!" She absconded from the magnetization of their lips, breaking free of his grasp, escaping the kiss, and confusing him further.

"Jade, I have no idea what you're trying to tell me here. Seriously, you're just going to have to tell me point blank, because even if this is some normal couple thing, I must be too stupid to understand-"

"I have one week to save Garden Club, Dave! One week!"

He ogled at her, achieving a level of perplexion that was incredible.

"I'm not following here."

She shuffled her feet and blushed scarlet as she glared down at the floor.

"Well, it's my responsibility and I owe it to myself to follow through with it and not give up the fight now! It's going to take a miracle, my full dedication….and if you become my boyfriend right now…" She blushed deeply. "I'm worried that saving Garden Club would drift off my mind."

He was quiet and composed, contemplating.

"Is it really _that_ important to you, Jade?"

"Yes. It is!"

"Well, can't you be my girlfriend AND save your club? Multi-tasking?"

She met his gaze with an uncomfortable amount of bashfulness.

"I've been coming up short so far because of my lollygagging around! I have to put my full, undivided heart into this if I have any chance left to come through! A-also…if we were dating, I'd probably be a big huge weirdo and think about you all the time, maybe even non-stop…" She giggled embarrassedly.

"Let me get this straight. You save Garden Club, and _then_ you'll be my girlfriend?"

She nodded.

He simply grabbed her hand and began dragging her out of the gym.

"D-dave! Where are we going?!"

"Come on," he retorted, dead serious. "We've got a bunch of frickin' flowers to rescue, and I'll be dead before we fail."


	16. The Countdown Clock: Alstroemeria

"DAVE! You cannot threaten to break in and hold someone's family hostage if they don't join Garden Club!"

Operation _Save the Flowers_ was in full swing, and failure was not an option.

"Sorry, Jade," he playfully smirked, "But you can't tell me what to do. You're not even my girlfriend."

Her face pulled into an angry pout as she fumed. She couldn't help but feel a smidgeon of annoyance, having Dave jump right in and try to pull off the whole feat on his own. She was strong and independent; she didn't need him to do this for her. Dave's execution in fighting for the fate of the club was entirely different than the way she had been going about it. In fact, the persuasion styles were absolutely opposite. Jade had been carefully calculating, cautious, and quiet while Dave was an aggressive, loose cannon that refused to take no for an answer.

He had even resorted to chasing students around with a megaphone in the most ridiculous fashion Jade had ever seen. She couldn't help but laugh ballistically as he terrified a handful of the younger years into signing up (with Jade running over to stop him and calm them down after the deed was done). Perhaps his methods were entirely unorthodox, but hey, they were running short on time and members are members and there's no arguing with that.

The rest of the gang continued to help the best they could.

"I'll burp the alphabet for you if you join," Terezi did her best to convince him.

"What?! Why would ANYONE want to hear that?!" Karkat criticized. "Besides, I told you a thousand times before, I'm not joining."

"Why _wouldn't_ they?" she convinced with a flirtatious wink.

"…ugh. You know what?! Whatever. Fine. I'm in, just so you guys will leave me alone. And you'd better burp those letters at top speed as promised or I'm dropping out," he resolved, easily defeated by the seductive talent of pseudo-intelligent belching. Terezi belted out in choruses of amused laughter as the boy cursed under his breath.

/ . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . /

"John, where did the posters we were supposed to be hanging up go to?"

"Oh! I hung them up!"

"What? Every single one we made? Where?!"

"Well, you said we needed to be "unconventional," so I did the most eye-catching thing I could think of!"

"Jonathan Egbert. Please tell me that you didn't do what I think you did."

"What do you think I did?"

"Something incredibly ill-advised."

"I don't know what that means, but I do know that the front stairs are now the most eye-catching thing in the whole school!"

And sure enough, Rose found that the stairs were indeed plastered with every poster in their inventory. It was a visual cacophony, like some sort of paper mache catastrophe. Rose slapped her forehead with her palm.

"John! I! This! You!...What in the world?" She stammered.

"There's _no way_ a person could ignore this!"

She deeply exhaled. "Oh John, what are we going to do with you?"

"Keep me and love me forever, obviously."

"I suppose that's a start," she affirmed with a soft smile and a smirk.

/ . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . /

"Dave, shouldn't you be working on the dance preparations?" Jade inquired. "You are president, after all."

"Nah," he shrugged it off. "I've got more important matters to attend to than the fate of a bunch of sweaty teenagers in a dark gym."

"Well, if you're _really_ sure…but I promise! I've got this, okay? Like, I have this great idea to sell corsages, or to have this raffle for bouquets, or-"

"No no no, that's entirely too much work. I've got a better idea. Leave this crap to me."

"No way!" She huffed. "This is my club, and I don't need to you to swoop in and, and….'rescue' me, like some kind of damsel in distress!"

"Isn't that what you are, though?" he smiled. "You _are_ a damsel, and you _are_ in distress, and you did declare me your 'knight in shining armor,' you know."

"Hey! I'll have you know that I am fully capable of managing this! I am enduring and independent and I can-"

"Relax, relax. I know you're all those things, I'm just teasing you a little s'all. Getting some help doesn't make you any less those things, silly."

He ruffled the top of her hair as she glared at him. "You've worked like a dog up until now- no, scratch that. You've been an entire team of exhausted Alaskan Malamutes dragging a fat Eskimo dude through forty miles of freezing ice and snow. Let me take things over for a while, hm?"

Flustered, she decided to accept the fact that she did need help and that his methods had been proving to be more effective in terms of results. Maybe it _was_ time to accept a little help.

"Well then, what DO you have planned then, 'Mr. Knight In Shining Armor'?"

He simply held up a clipboard as she stared.

"…Dave! That's just the sheet for the dance sign ups!"

"Not anymore. Now it's also the sign up for garden club."

"T-that's no fair! You can't force people to sign up in order to go to the dance!"

He beamed with an ornery smile. "Yes we can."

"No we can't!"

"Yeeeees we can."

"NO!"

"Thanks to this plan, we're practically done already! Another excellent job by Strider, thank you ladies and gentleman. Now, is this the part where I attack your face with my lips or?"

She furrowed her brows and grimaced, blushing maddeningly. She swiped the clipboard out of his hand and took his hand, dragging him away.

"Hey, where are we going?"

"I've had enough of your help for one day, thank you very much!"

"You can't get rid of me so easily, almost-girlfriend."

She dragged him back to where he should have been: the gymnasium.

"Oh, can't I?"

"Nooope. And I'm definitely not going in there."

He stood planted firmly in his shoes, refusing to budge an inch.

"You have a dance to get ready, sir Strider," she cooed coquettishly.

"We've been over this, like, a billon times, I'm really don't care-"

She leaned up on her the tips on her toes, closed her eyes, and planted a little kiss on his cheek. She couldn't help but laugh at his dumbfounded, flustered, embarrassed reaction, his stiff posture loosening up, knees unlocking and growing week.

"Now," she demanded, pushing him through the gym doors, "Back to work!"

"H-hey, wait! Jade! You can't just-"

She closed the doors, giggling to herself as she ran back to her business.


	17. Soon Enough: Gardenias

"Rose! Quit that, you're distracting me!"

Busy fingers tirelessly unraveled rolls of glittery yellow ribbons, tying them around cold flower stems uniting them into bouquets. As far as she was concerned, Jade didn't have a moment to spare.

"My apologies, Jade."

Rose smirked as she stepped away from the dedicated worker seated at the table, firmly focused in her work. She shouldn't be distracting her, much less not helping, but this was important….maybe, if she could just step back a bit and eyeball the measurements….

She clutched her measuring tape and held it outward, envisioning a cooperative Jade beneath it. The sizing of this was tricky. She would only need one second to get this part done. Should she take the chance? Yes; it would be worth it.

"Rooooose!"

Rose giggled a bit, not being able to restrain herself.

"Again, sorry Jade. But it's for a very important project, one that demands my foremost

attention."

Jade adhered a set of Floribunda roses with a sparkling gold bow as she turned to face her friend.

"Okay, fine. How many more measurements do you need? Wait, does this require me to be a guinea pig in another one of your experiments?"

"Heavens no! I mean, not this time. Maybe later," she smirked. "Anyway, I need measurements for your waist, bust, and if it's not too much trouble, a quick height check would serve wonders…"

Jade sighed and stood from her chair, leaving her post.

"Alright! Fire away!"

She threw her arms into the air as Rose wrapped the tape around her body, diligently scribbling numbers onto a Post-it.

"Thank you! I'm all done now and you can return to your flower assembly line."

"Actually, I only have a few left before I take a breather! I made some great progress today."

"I'll say. I've never seen anyone work harder for anything in all my teenage years."

"Well, you know what they say! When the going get going, the tough get going-er…wait, no…when the tough gets going, you make lemonade!...no, that's not it either…crap!"

Rose was amused at her friend's bumbling. "Not much for proverbs, huh?"

"Hey, cut me some slack! I've been working non-stop today and my fingers are practically swelling up."

And indeed, she had worked without ceasing, and her labor was not without fruition. The club had in fact gained a fairly sizeable number of members which was nothing to scoff at- although some of those members were enticed by force at the end of a megaphone, and others were seduced by certain wedgie-wielding, belching babes, they were still new members in the end. Things on the money front were going even more swimmingly, and with any luck, these bouquets would sell themselves when the dance rolled around.

"Haven't you had anything on your mind besides the club?"

"I told you, priorities! I have to fulfill my duty as president and-"

"You can ease up a little bit. You're practically in the clear, after all."

"No way," she shook her head in defiance, "Not until the deed is done!"

/ . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . /

Back at her own adobe that night, Rose's bedroom floor was covered in wadded up balls of paper, failed ideas and unformulated plans. She sketched wildly at her desk as a Skype window remained open on her desktop.

"How's this one?" She held the drawing up to the camera for him to examine; it was a magnificent design, an impressive testament to style. It depicted a flowy, flouncy dress, its fabric shining and sparkling like the cosmos of the Milky Way themselves.

"Rose! She's not getting married!"

"Soon enough, John. Soon enough. I'm just getting prepared," Rose laughed lightly.

"It's just a dressy-casual dance, and you hardly have enough time to crank out that masterpiece anyways."

"My, my. Could it be you're doubting my masterpiece manufacturing abilities?"

"W-what? No Rose, I mean, it's just that- what I mean is that-"

"It's perfectly fine, I get what you mean." She decided to save the sketch of the dress, taping it to the wall above her desk along with a plethora of other drawings. He was right; a dress like that would certainly take a long while to complete. She'd probably work 'til 3AM night after night to finish something like that.

She took out a blue colored pencil and got back to work.

"Since when were you a sewing expert, anyways?"

"Contrary to popular belief, I do put down the knitting needles now and then- if only to replace them with sewing needles."

"Rose, is there anything you can't do?!"

"Nope. Looks like I'm good at everything. I'm a Renaissance woman at her finest," Rose beamed ear to ear as she oozed sarcasm, John returning the smile. "Hmm…eye-catching, but not excessively ostentatious...classy, but not overly time consuming…I think I'm onto it…"

She was engrossed, her hands desperately moving to keep up with her mind as she sketched, crafting contour lines and birthing balance on the paper.

"You know, Rose, that's awfully sweet of you to do this for Jade, y'know…"

"She would probably show up in her regular school attire otherwise. Us being the matchmakers we are, we have to see this through to the very end! Do you have the rest of your side of the plan ready?"

"Of course, but maybe…."

"Hm?" She didn't flinch nor look up as she continued her drawing, which worked to his blushing advantage.

"Maybe…maybe we shouldn't spend our _whole_ time on those two, I mean…."

"You mean?"

"Well, what I'm trying to say is that you are the coolest girl I've met and I really like you a lot and I was wondering…."

A pair of furry paws prodded across the keyboard, with an accompanying 'mew.' The video chat window closed.

"Jaspers!"

The cat rubbed its soft, sleek black fur up against her arm, beckoning for cuddles per the norm. Rose sat aside her drawing, finished at last, and placed Jaspers in her lap. She redialed the boy post-haste.

"The answer is yes, naturally," she smirked. "Pick me up at seven."

"W-what…I…how did you know?! I didn't even get to finish!"

"If you haven't noticed by now, dear John, I am rather observant when it comes to matters of the heart," she grinned devilishly with an accompanying wink, making him laugh. "I'd be much more than happy to consort you to the dance. However, don't think this means you're off matchmaking duty yet. You know those dorks have no chance without us to prod them along!"

"Of course, of course, I've got everything all ready and…I can't believe you said yes!"

She simply held up her finished artwork as a response.

"I call it 'Dress of Eclectica'. Like it? Very Jade-esque, no?"

"Yes, it's perfect- don't change the subject, Rose Lalonde!"

"This will take a good deal of work, but it's nothing out of my field of expertise. Heh, the hardest part will probably be getting her in it and getting her mind out of flower-related matters…but I must prevail, as we are on the cusp of their official moment. Exciting times."

"Rose!"

"I'm incredibly afraid that the late hour draws nearer and my work window dwindles smaller, and I must bid you an adieu, my darling Egbert."

"Roooose, no!"

She blew him a teasing kiss, simpering in the coyest of ways before hanging up and getting to work.


	18. The Perfect Envy: Lavender

There are many difficult things in the world. Playing the Rock Band drums with your toes is pretty hard. Giving a hydrophobic cat a bath proves even harder. Hardest of all tasks would be being saddled with the impossible duty of preparing Jade Harley for what would be a very important night.

Rose was ready for the challenge.

"Rose! That is WAY too much eyeliner on me! It won't look good on me!"

"Stop squirming or its going to end up in your eye."

"I can't pull the dramatic look off! Only you can do that!"

"Well, there's a first time for everything, isn't there?"

She had tricked Jade into coming over long before it was time for them to arrive at the dance. The reveal of Rose's masterfully crafted dress had been met with exhilaration and received endless sentiments of thankfulness. It was a short, bouncy, puffy electric blue gown that shimmered and shined like the ribbons of her bouquets. The dress was coupled with a classy long-sleeved black cardigan, a tasteful accessory typical of Rose. The dress reminded Jade of a tuft of cotton candy, and she was eager to wear it and even more bashful that Rose had prepared her such a fantastic gift.

"No! No plum lipstick, Rose! I can't wear purple shades!"

"Quit shaking around or I'll strap you to the chair."

"I don't want purple lipstick!"

"I'll give you bubblegum pink instead, if you cease the incessant wailing."

Rose would have more time to get ready for herself; John would be picking her up, after all. But Jade had planned to be at the school early, selling her flowers and campaigning for her club. Rose couldn't help but smirk to herself at her friend's naivety, knowing firsthand that there'd be much more going on than that night than a get-rich-quick scheme.

/ . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . /

"Thank you! Yes, thank you, I really appreciate it- wonderful! Thanks!"

The bouquets were selling like hot cakes- or at least, if hot cakes were an instant best seller and were frequently sold out items. Jade hadn't ever actually seen any hot cakes before- what was with that phrase?

Weird idioms aside, hardly any time had passed before every last flower was gone. The bouquet basket was empty and the money jar was full; a stark, fantastic contrast that filled Jade's heart to the brim with joy. She held the jar in her hands, pressing her calloused palms against the glass and smiling. It was funny to think that once this exact same jar been empty, held with a disheartened expression. Now, her money woes were over. This would be more than enough.

She gingerly retrieved a clipboard of member signatures and coupled it with the abundant funds, shuffling down to drop it off at the office, barely suppressing jubilant bouts of skipping as she beamed with pride.

/ . / . / . / . / . / . / . /

His fingers were on the switches of the channel mixer, but his mind was certainly elsewhere.

He hadn't even gotten to see her yet. However, he hadn't been able to leave the gymnasium since he'd first arrived. Regardless, shouldn't she have popped in by now? Where was she? He had been one of the first people here, tying off all the loose ends and overseeing last minute business. He should have seen her; the dance had been going for about half an hour at this point. What had she been up to? After her little speech about how she'd prevail in her quest and didn't need any further assistance, he'd been alienated from her plans. Sheesh, so independent. The only tool he would have needed to save her club would have been his megaphone, he was sure. Between his duties with the dance and whatever she was off and up to, the duo had hardly seen each other the entire week. He'd been looking forward to this night for what felt like ages…

A horrible thought crossed his mind.

Was she even coming tonight?

In his mind, her arrival was a given. You can't have a dance without Jade Harley. That's an illogical fallacy. He'd never considered the possibility that she wouldn't show up, and the lack of foresight on the notion made him feel absolutely stupid.

His eyes peered around the room once again for a thousandth time, recognizing peer after peer, but coming up Jadeless. Despite wearing shades in the darkness of the gym, he could still pick up on visual landmarks; the sparkly fuchsia of Feferi Peixe's dress, Aradia Megido's massive amounts of hair piled on top of her head, a pair of offbeat pals raiding the dessert table (was the girl wearing a cat ear headband?)….

A sight for sore eyes came waltzing in the gymnasium, making a grand appearance. A confident, elegant girl stood in a floor length black gown, her most notable accessory the blockhead attached to her arm in his dad's best suit, smiling from ear to ear.

He flipped the equalizer up, cranked the volume a smidgeon, and quickly adjusted a few of the rotary knobs before leaving his post to meet them at the front of the gym. He had precisely two minutes and fifteen seconds before he had to be back.

"Hey Dave," John greeted.

"Hello, Dave. Looking rather dapper tonight, aren't you?"

"Hey dorks, where's Jade?"

"Should have known," Rose smirked. "You're just all about the Jade, aren't you?"

"Rose."

"Fine. She was out there selling flowers not but a few minutes ago." Rose gestured a backhanded thumb towards the closed gym doors, beckoning him outside. Oh. So _that_ was what she had been up to.

"Thanks."

He flung the doors open with great gusto and went forward.

"Jade?"

Calamity befell him as he came up Jadeless once again. There was a table not too far off, presumably hers from her latest and greatest business scheme, but the display was lacking the person of interest. He searched frantically around the perimeter, no luck in the endeavor.

He sighed, crestfallen as ever as he returned downtrodden to his post with a few seconds left to spare.

/ . / . / . / . / . / . / . /

_Alright! You can do it! Here we go, on the count of three…one..two…ugh._

It was easily the third failed attempt to make her appearance. Her sweaty palms loosened her grip on the door handles and she backed away, leaning up against the wall. This was nerve-wracking. The reverbs of sound waves from the loud pulsing of the music transcended through the walls and amplified her confliction. She smoothed out the wrinkly spots of her puffy dress and took deep breaths. Butterflies swirled and swooped around in her stomach chambers, and she worried that they'd fly out her throat, taking her heart along the way with them. She wondered if she looked presentable; the confident bravado that came with being all dolled up had taken a plummeting fall the second she'd seen some of her female peers. She could feel herself paling in comparison to them, having to settle for at least looking alright and doing her best to be satisfied in her bearing.

He'd be the star of the show, the undeniable hero and host of the event. She bet he looked so cool up there behind his platform, mixing wicked sweet tunes and looking incredibly suave. He'd be in full-on coolkid mode, without a doubt. He would probably be cold and stoic and reserved and hanging out with all his music club friends and she'd just be a big embarrassment to him if she interrupted him in front of all that. Ugh, this was so conflicting!

She took a gulp and a breath and opened those doors.

An instant, overwhelming sensation of light and sound hit her in the face. The pulsating colored lights overhead flashed and sputtered and span, a makeshift lightshow. Her peers garbed in ornate clothing surrounded her and music blared through her ear canals as she stood awkwardly, on sensory overload. She shifted her gaze to the ground quickly, desperately trying not to lay eyes on the event's host.

Her eyes frantically scoured for any sign of her cousin and his date as she walked around, nervously making sure not to glance over to the center back of the room where Dave would be. Somewhere around the room, she was stopped.

"Hi Jade!"

"Oh, hi Tavros!"

She turned to see one of her peers, Tavros Nitram. He was a little bit younger than her, handicapped, and had the unfortunate habit of stuttering and getting mega nervous. He was fairly timid and cautiously polite, struggling with his ever faltering self-esteem. Jade was happy to see he'd showed up tonight, coming out of his shell somewhat to attend.

"Y-you look really pretty tonight!"

"Well, thank you so much! That's so sweet of you," she gave him a friendly, warm grin.

"Do you w-wanna dance with me?!"

"Oh! Of course," she laughed, thankful for the lighthearted mood to ease her nerves. Unaware and oblivious of the atmosphere around her, she outstretched her arms and took his hands, giggling as she spun him around with her to the upbeat dance music.

/ . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . / . /

John and Rose watched her from the side of the room.

"She couldn't even make it halfway across the dance floor without Nitram bombarding her!" John mused. "That's a new record."

"Advert your attention from that and check out the sight a couple feet away from that," Rose nudged him, directing his line of vision to a very angry Dave Strider, glaring at the object of his affections. Even from under the protection of sunglasses, it was purely obvious that he was irritated; his face was a testament to incredible distemper.

John couldn't help but laugh.

"Wow, that is _perfect_. Just perfect. Look- does Jade have any idea that he's been watching her this whole time?"

"Nope," Rose deduced, "Notice that she's not even laid eyes on him once since she came in. Knowing her, she's undeniably uptight about the ordeal."

"Ugh, these two are so irritating! Do you think she has any idea that he's been waiting for her to show up?"

"None."

"Well, not everyone can be as incredibly au fait as we are."

"Agreed," he smiled. "Now, the question is, do you think they're gonna need any help from us?"

"Not a doubt in my mind. Don't they always?"

"Didn't you say you talked to him about something a few days ago? Doesn't he have something planned for tonight?"

"In theory. But plans of grandeur rarely get off the ground without some poking and prodding from us meddling matchmakers."

"Okay! Let's do this. Say no more, just tell me what to do."

"Get Jade away from Tavros, for starters," she instructed.

"Can do!"

He approached his cousin in great strides, coming up beside her and wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

"Jaaaaade! How you doing there?!"

"John!"

"Yo, Tav, mind if I cut in? Family gets first dancing dibs!"

"U-uh, sure, I guess-"

John took off with Jade, dragging her over into an uncongested corner and away from the scene as Rose approached a surly Dave.

"Howdy," she greeted teasingly, having to raise her voice to compete with the music. "How goes things, Sir DJ?"

"She didn't even look at me. Literally two seconds in here and she's ignoring me and dancing with all the dudes."

"Oh, cut the dramatic monologue, princess," Rose snarked. "Remember what we talked about? Time is of the essence."

"Maybe she's embarrassed of me or something…"

"Dave, come out of the raging throes of jealousy and listen to me."

"Maybe I'd annoy her in front of her friends…."

"Dave!"

"You know what? I'm still going through with this. I don't care if I embarrass her. This is a chance I have to take."

He shuffled out from behind his post and nudged her out of the way, sporting the most fiercely determined demeanor and tenacious look Rose had ever had the pleasure of witnessing.

She watched him as he made his way over to fellow music club member Vriska, motioning for her to take his place in his absence, a role she testily took. Dave then proceeded to stomp over to Jade, take her by the hand without a word (much to her shocked expression) and drag her out of the gymnasium to who knows where.

"Atta boy," Rose affirmed as she smiled and rejoined her date at the punch bowl.


	19. Trapped in Paradise: Chrysanthemums

"D-dave! Where are we going?! The party's back in there! You have to DJ, remember?! Dave! DAVE!" He didn't have anything to say as he continued determinedly marching forward, pulling her along. "Daaaave!"

Upon arrival, he slung the ever familiar doors open and proceeded to the terrace.

Tiny tea light lanterns wrapped around the edge perimeters of the garden, blazing their warm glow. Rose had come through for him, fulfilling his little favor; she and John had lit them, arriving to the dance at the same time as dusk fell. Gleaming, refulgent beams danced and played and scintillated, bathing the garden in soft light. The tips of roses and gardenias were speckled with the aura, glowing in the dark. The sight wholeheartedly took Jade's breath away.

"T-this is just….so…._wow_." Her mouth was agape as she stared at her beloved garden, which had undergone a fantastic transformation into something so magical and radiant, Jade wasn't sure if it was even real anymore. She wondered if paper lanterns could have this bewitching effect on everything, or maybe it was the night sky above, or maybe it was just the fact that Dave was there with her. Whatever the reason, it was fantastical.

Her trance was broken by the feel of fingers running something through the hair. Instinctively, she turned around and her hand flew up to the new object, gently in place behind her ear.

"A Chrysanthemum," she noted quietly, heart thumping wildly. Dave, still acting kind of ticked off and weird, was about to say something to her, but he was cut off.

"Is it alright for us to be out here?" she stammered, nervous- but not about getting caught.

"Jade," he stated, "I just don't care." She couldn't help but notice his obvious frustration, not able to pin down the source of his irritation. His aura only made her jumpier.

"I had to bring you out here, after all," he mumbled under his breath. "Only way I'd have a fighting chance…"

"Chance? 'Out here?' What are you talking about?" He hadn't spoken quietly enough to evade Jade's ever observant ears.

His behavior was extraordinarily peculiar to her. He grew visibly flustered, possessing such a strong pink glow that it spread to his ears. Whether it was from embarrassment of something, unabashed anger, or some strange mixture of the two, she couldn't tell. This made her feel so uncomfortable; _he_ was supposed to be the cool, calm, and composed one, but the icy exterior of his personality had seemingly melted away. His mood was contagious, and Jade found herself feeling even more bashful than before.

"I dunno, why don't you tell me, little miss flirtatious?"

"Are you?...huh?...what are you talking about?!"

He glared down at the ground with furrowed eyebrows, glowing cheeks, and a bothered frown. That's when it hit her.

"Are you- you don't mean Tavros, do you?! Dave, it was just Tavros!"

"_Sure_," he scoffed, resembling a toddler who hadn't gotten their way.

"I'm allowed to have fun at a dance too, you know!"

"You were trying to make me jealous, right? Congratulations. It worked."

"I…I wasn't trying to do that at all!" she defended. She couldn't believe he was acting like such a baby!

"Come on, Jade. It was pretty obvious. You don't look at me, you don't talk to me. You just tear up the dance floor with all the dudes right in front of me!"

"No, I just…come on, it wasn't like that _at all_. It was just…." She veered her gaze down to the grass.

"Well then? What IS it?..."

The blood in her face pulsated as she remained silent, continuing to glare at the ground. He was persistent.

"Jade?" He outstretched his arms, gently placing his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to respond.

"I-I was just nervous, okay! I was NERVOUS! There, happy?"

"What?" Confusion peppered his voice. "Nervous? Nervous of what?"

"Oh, don't play dumb with me, mister!" Their respective emotions had flipped as she grew irritated, pointing an accusing finger in his face.

"What? Jade, you've got _nothing _to be nervous of. Me on the other hand? I-"

"No! You stop that right now!"

"H-huh?"

"I cut loose for _one _second with _one _boy- Tavros Nitram, of all people- and it's some big deal, but what about you? You're up there surrounded by all those pretty popular girls, which is nothing new, looking way cuter than anyone has any right to look and acting all Coolpants McSauve and that's pretty darn intimidating!"

She was panting after the rant as he stood frozen with wide eyes.

After the shock wore off, he burst into fits of laughter, so much in fact that he had to hold his stomach regions to prevent from keeling over.

She began fuming, furious at his reaction. She was done with all this silliness, for lack of a better word. Whatever word describes this incredibly immature exchange of tantrums. She turned and marched back towards the door.

"….Jade? Jade! Jaaaade!"

He rushed to her side, wrapping his arms around her from behind, catching her in a hug that refused to let her retreat.

"Hey! Let me go, you… you!...ugh!"

He chuckled. "So you can even think of a good insult to call me?"

"Like I'd even waste my time!"

"I just can't help but find this incredibly hilarious is all," he admitted.

"What? My feelings?" She was practically barking mad.

"Huh? No, no way," his voice turned serious, flat. "I mean, that you would think that- what you said earlier. Because it's so far from the truth."

She wanted to whip around to look at his expression, meet his gaze.

"I'm really sorry for laughing and throwing a hissy fit. Please, stay out here with me?"

"…okay. I'm sorry, too," she mumbled, admitting defeat.

He let go of her, pulling his phone out of his pocket and loading a pre-made playlist, cranking the volume. He set on the closet picnic table, returning to her at once.

"This is a dance, you know," he smiled. "Might as well, y'know, _dance_."

"...okay," she reluctantly agreed, a smile slipping on to her face mirroring his own.

She reached for his hands, but he declined, placing them on her waist instead. Heart beating a million miles a minute, she reached up to place her own hands on his shoulder blades. She couldn't meet his gaze, feeling more backward than she had in her entire life. His grasp on her was firm and unyielding as he began to sway her back and forth to the slow song pouring out into the open air.

"…hey, what are you looking away for?"

"We literally just…talked about this…"

"Huh?"

"Jade, what are you saying-"

She quickly flipped his shades up to his forehead to see his eyes, thinking that would somehow help; it didn't. Looking into his big, beautiful eyes was like dowsing her heart in gasoline and lighting it ablaze.

"T-there!" she exclaimed nervously desperately trying to feign composure. He wasn't buying it one bit, throwing her an all-knowing smirk that sent her head spinning.

She shuddered, the gentle breeze beginning to pick up and transforming into a cool night gust of wind. He pulled her closer.

"You've had me all tongue-tied and breathless from day one, Harley. Just give me tonight to turn the tables for once."

"Ugh," Jade mumbled, glowing a vibrant pink. "We are SO new at this."

"What? At dancing? I dunno, I've seen quite a few late-night reruns of _Footloose _in my day-"

"No, not at dancing, you goofball! At..at whatever _this_ is…"

He didn't quite understand was "this" was, but he could catch the implication that it was something very important. A shiver ran down her spine and sent her shaking again, to which he momentarily released his grip on her to take off his dress jacket and swaddle her in it.

"_This_…'this'being…?"

"Y-you know what I'm talking about."

"I do? Wait, what are we talking about?"

"Don't be stupid, Dave!"

He was grinning wildly at her building annoyance, continuing to play dumb.

"Stupid about what?"

"LOVE, DAVE! Love! Us! We're! I…I…" She couldn't believe she had said something like that!

"Aaaand there we go," he laughed, blushing himself now. "_That's_ what I was waiting for."

"Waiting for what?! Me to be a complete idiot?!"

"It's so nice to have you be the one acting like a lovesick puppy for a change! We should do this more often," he teased.

"You're really infuriating sometimes, Strider!"

The shining of the stars in the night sky overhead was their canopy; the brisk wind swirled around the audience of flowers and made them dance and sway. The flames of tea candles flickered, flashes of light illuminating the dark. There couldn't have been a more perfect setting, Jade thought.

"Hey, Jade?"

"…yeah?"

"I love you, too."

And he pulled her into the sweetest, passionate, most loving kiss that had ever been laid upon any mouth in all of teenage history. She could have sworn she melted underneath his hands as he tipped her head up, their cheekbones exchanging warmth as he glided his lips against hers to overlap them. His breath was saccharine and tepid, filling her lungs like the sweetest of nectars. Her green eyes were wide open, albeit awkwardly, as she reeled in the initial shock of the moment before fully closing them to relish the moment. She wanted it to last forever.

She had to gasp for air after it was over, dazed and short of breath. A happy, dreamy sigh escaped his mouth as he rested his forehead against hers. The scene was familiar; she had dreamed of a scenario like this more times than she'd be willing to admit. However, the difference between the person she was in her dreams and the person she was in real life was that there was no witty comeback, no cloyingly sweet line, no amalgamation of words forming in her brain to say. Not that she'd have to think of anything, luckily- it was just then that the candles were snuffed out with a gust of wind and transformed into wisps of cascading smoke, leaving the two completely shrouded in darkness- save for the dim light of the stars above.

Instinctively, she let out a little yelp and lurched forward into his chest, squeezing him tight. He laughed, smoothing her hair with one hand and resting the other on her back.

The music streaming out of his phone had long since ceased, for whatever reason- not that the two of them had noticed until now.

"You must have gotten a message or something," she said matter-of-factly as it muffled into the fabric of his shirt.

"I don't care what anyone else has to say right now," he assured, laughing.

"Well, I'm curious! Come on, it might be important. I don't want you to get into trouble or anything!"

"Nah, this is way more importanter."

"That's not even a word!" she giggled as she broke free of his cuddles, fetching his phone for him.

"Here you go. I'll even suppress my curiosity as not to look at it," she handed it to him with a wink.

He smirked, rolling his eyes. "Fine. I'll open the stupid thing if you're so interested."

It was a message from Rose's cell phone, one with particular urgency- urgency that had been sent a couple of minutes ago.

_Get out of there NOW, before it's too late._

His brows furrowed, confused as he read it. "Hmm? What is that supposed to mean?"

"What's it say, Dave?"

He thought for a moment before understanding the message's unfortunate implications. He knew he wouldn't have enough time now to act, either.

"It says….that you're cute." He grinned teasingly, flirtatiously irritating her.

"Daaave! Come on!"

"Alright, I'll tell you what it really says…if you can catch me."

"Wait, what?"

He ran off in the dark, heading for the very back of the fenced-in yard, behind the scattered trees and line of shrubbery. She followed after him, confused but intrigued at the game. Finding his way around the garden would have been a near impossible challenge had his shades been on. The enveloping nightfall shrouded the grounds in pitch darkness.

"Daaaave! Stop stepping on the flowers!"

"Make me," he laughed back in response as he continued, reaching the shrubs and making a dive down into the bushes.

"…Dave? Dave, where'd you go? Ah!-"

He grabbed her ankle, pulling her into the grassy camouflage to join him.

"Dave, what the heck are you-"

"Shhh!" He clasped a hand over her mouth, silencing her and muffling her loud complaints.

"Mmmprph! Anffrm mrrphm! Davmmph!"

"Jade, you sound ridiculous," he whispered, "Shhh. Be still."

She stared at him, confused and irritated, until realization hit her. They remained together in pure silence as the sounds of a door being opened for a few seconds were followed by the click clacks of high heels hitting the landscaping tiles. A few adrenaline-filled seconds hung in the air before the noise of a turning key took place.

"Okay," Dave exhaled, "We're safe now."

The blood drained from Jade's face.

"D-dave. We're…we're…"

"Locked out? Yes. Yes we are."


	20. Canopy of Stars: Amaryllis

The hour was growing late, and the night's events were just about drawing to a close.

Most of the dance attendees were heading home now, a sparse and stratified amount of people still left. Four of these people were a spectacular band of misfits we've come to know and love, separating themselves into two pairs; one duo mischievously delighting in the unorthodox turn of events, and the other couple nervously panicking in their perfect little outdoor prison.

"Is she picking up yet?!"

"Nope," Dave sighed, "No luck. I don't know what's going on in there."

They sat concealed in darkness, resting on the soft grass as they desperately search for a remedy to their predicament.

Jade took a quick glance over at the screen before he clicked it off.

"Hey! Your battery is almost out! Didn't you charge your phone last night?"

"No? Why would I?"

"Well, for situations exactly like this, "she giggled.

"Ppfft. Not like this kind of thing happens regularly," he smiled in the dark. "Unless this brand of wicked silliness is gonna become a usual thing. Is it?"

She shrugged. "With you and me? Anything can happen, I'd say."

They gingerly exchanged soft bouts of laughter.

"Yeah. Rose better get moving with that reply, before my phone…" he trailed off, denying that there was any possibility she might not come through.

"Well, I wish I had mine with me…I was supposed to be sleeping over at Rose's house tonight! I left all my junk over there," Jade remarked.

They sat somberly, contemplating in the quiet tension. Plans of action raced through Jade's mind; could they hop the fence? Not unless they wanted to break an arm and a leg. It was way too high and certainly unsuitable for a garden jailbreak. That was a lost cause.

A vibration broke the awkward stiffness, a much anticipated call coming through.

"Alright, I'm out in the parking lot," Rose announced. "Can you hear me okay?"

"Yeah, we're locked out."

"Oh dear. That's not good. Put me on speakerphone."

If one would strain hard enough, they could hear the chants of John Egbert in the background: _What?! Those dorks are stuck?! Leave it to Strider to get them trapped! Ha! _

"Egbert, shut up. Alright Rose, you're on speaker. So, what do we do?"

"What do you mean 'what do we do?' What do you _want _me to do, hijack a helicopter and jailbreak you guys out of the garden?- no John, that was rhetorical. We are most certainly not hijacking a helicopter."

"I don't know, but whatever we do, let's do it fast."

"Well, yes, time is indeed of the essence, but we don't really have any options. The only thing I can do for you now is to go get Ms. Paint."

"Go get Ms. Paint?"

"NO! NO WAY!"

"Hm? Why not, Jade?"

"I-if we get Ms. Paint…we're gonna get in trouble for sure! I'm already at the end of my leash with her! I can't afford another slip up."

"Aw, come on," Dave smirked teasingly, "What's the matter? Never had a detention, good girl?"

"No, and I don't plan to!"  
"Don't worry, I'd be right there next to you to protect you from all those mean and scary delinquents."

"Pfft, you mean delinquents like yourself?"

"You two," Rose alerted from the cell phone's speaker, "Stop flirting and make up your mind. What's the plan?"

"Well, Jade?" Dave began feeling incredibly guilty, putting her on the spot like this. She stared down at the ground, wide-eyed and incredibly conflicted.

"Look," Rose retorted the silence, "If I don't tell, there's no other way out, and it's time for us to go. The only other thing I can think of is the swim club meet early tomorrow morning; the security guard will have come around and unlocked everything then, and if you're crazy enough to try that option, in theory, you'll be able to escape without it being a part of the her knowledge."

Jade took a nervous gulp, mind racing at the decision.  
"Okay. That's what I want to do."

"Well, looks you're getting a sleepover after all tonight," Rose laughed, much to the embarrassment of Jade.

Dave hung his phone up, relieving his crush from any further embarrassment.

"So…" he said, fully aware of the instant, awkward change in mood.

"Soooo," she chimed back with melancholy, her face hidden enclosed in her dark hair as she turned away from him.

The tension was contagious; his lighthearted, confident demeanor from moments before washing away and being replaced with feelings of gawky incompetence. He wondered what he was supposed to say, what he was supposed to do, what she was feeling. He also felt completely thankful he hadn't eaten anything prior to this; his stomach was a full with an army of butterflies and a thousand pounds of pins and needles. Nervousness was getting the best of him.

Oh no.

What if he had to pee at some point? Holy crap. He_ really _hoped he didn't have to pee. It had been about two minutes and it was already quickly becoming the longest night of his life.

"I'm sorry," a small voice atoned, "I'm so sorry for this, Dave."

"Huh? Sorry for what?"

He inched closer to her, hoping the sudden change in proximity wouldn't make her uncomfortable. He hesitantly put a hand on her shoulder.

"I was the one who brought you out here anyway, remember?"

"Yeah, but…"

"Shh, you nerd," he pestered her, pulling her into a little side hug as she giggled.

She leaned on his shoulder gazing up at the sky silently with a wistful expression on her face. He thought she looked kind of lost, her eyes wandering around through the celestial heavens. She pointed a little finger towards the sky.

"The Polaris," she announced. "Brightest star in Ursa Minor."

"Ursa Minor?" he questioned. "All I see is the Big Dipper." He felt proud to spot the only constellation to his knowledge. He wondered if that would score him some smart dude points. He could only hope.

"Silly," she laughed, "The Big Dipper is part of the Ursa Major. It's not really a constellation, it's an asterism."

She pointed to another series of stars beneath it.

"There's Draco the Dragon- it's circumpolar for us, so it never sets. There's the Thuban star, right in the tail! It used to be considered the northern pole star long ago. Follow the tail to the head to see the Lozenge, the respective asterism of this constellation!"

Truthfully, he wasn't really listening to a word she was saying. He was staring right at her the whole time as she gazed passionately at the night sky, explaining in great detail many facts and rattling off data that was inconsequential to him.

"…Dave? Dave! How come you're staring at me like that?"

"You're really cute when you get into Super Harley NASA mode, you know?"

"H-hey! I just really have a thing for space is all. Isn't it fascinating?"

"Well, for some people, I guess. But they all just look like the same dumb stars to me."

"Aw, come on! Look how shiny and bright they are! You have to think balls of gas a million miles away able to burn so beautifully are impressive!"

"I dunno, I'm not impressed. But maybe that's because I have the brightest star right next to me." He grinned as he gave her shoulder a little squeeze, her bursting out laughing.

"Daaave! That's so sweet! But really cheesy," she beamed. Her head began sinking towards his chest, resting comfortably in his arms. She closed her eyes, relaxed and calm.

"I've got the best boyfriend in the whole universe," she remarked dreamily.

"Hm, yeah….wait. WHAT?"

"O-oh," she stammered, "Sorry, are we not…oh gosh, I'm really bad at this…"

"Are we official? Is this a thing now? Dave Strider: boyfriend extraordinaire?!"

"Well, I just figured since I made things really weird before and it would be awkward for you to have to ask again or something and oh boy what am I even saying-"

He ceased her faltering up with another kiss, one that was entirely more confident and explosively ardent than the last one. She couldn't help but let out a happy little sound of surprise, finding herself caught off guard once again. Would she ever get used to this? Probably not. Maybe her heart would always be strapped down in the never-ending roller coaster ride of bewildering excitement that came with being around this boy. Somehow, being that way for forever didn't sound too bad.

She could feel a little smile playing at the corners of his lips beneath her own, the warmth of his breath sending shivers down her spine.

Unsavory growling sounds from her stomach disturbed the sweet moment.

"Oh my gosh," she blushed fervently, much to his delight.

"Looks like somebody's hungry," he chortled, playfully poking her stomach.

"Hey! No poking my fat roll," she huffed. He burst into laughter.

"I don't even know what to say back to that."

She crossed her arms as her face formed an angry pout.

"You wouldn't have happened to have brought any snacks out here, would you?"  
"I'm sorry. I don't have anything to eat. But, if you want, I'll take you to get some waffles tomorrow morning."

"…double chocolate waffles?"

"Yes," he laughed, "We will definitely get double chocolate waffles. Enough Hershey's syrup on those suckers to make Willy Wonka himself green with envy."

She cracked up, flopping down in the grass. He joined her, lying side by side.

"Oh no," she gasped, an urgent thought crossing her mind.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm okay because I'm supposed to be at Rose's tonight," she realized, "but you…aren't you gonna get in big trouble?! This is horrible!"

"Nah," Dave assured, "I live with my bro, and he works wicked late hours anyway. I'm pretty sure he won't even notice I'm gone."  
"No, I doubt that. This isn't good."

"Jade, relax. It'll be fine."

"How much power does your phone have left?! Enough for one last message?!"

"Seriously, it'll be alright-"

"No! Send him a message!"

"What? Okay, fine. If that's what you really want."

He took out his phone, using the last of his depleting battery to fire his brother off a message.

_Staying all night, be home tomorrow. _

"T-that's it?" Jade questioned gently.

"Well, yeah. He's not exactly what you'd consider a helicopter guardian. He's pretty dang lenient."

She didn't quite know what to say, wondering if she should press the issue or remain silent. She lacked experience in conversation matters like these and she pondered if his statement was an invention for discussion or if he wanted her to drop it.

"He may not be the best," Dave said quietly, "but he's all I got…and I love him."

"Dave, I…"

"Sorry, pretty awkward and heavy stuff. I won't get into it. I know it's weird, and must be really hard for a person to understand."

"I don't think so," she heartened, "I think I can relate. I live with my grandpa."

"Oh," his voice cracking a bit, surprised at the new information.

"I won't get into it. Pretty awkward conversation fodder, after all," she smiled bittersweetly and threw him an accompanying wink. "But, isn't that the point? Sometimes, things are weird and strange and not the norm at all…but they're for the best. You have to love what you got. Don't focus on what you _don't _have but be thankful for what you _do _have, I think."

They were silent, staring up at the sky as they lay together.

"Jade," he announced matter-of-factly, "You're an amazing person."

"And a sleepy one," she giggled, the sound lapsing into a yawn. She scooted closer to him, resting her head on his chest.

"Are we sure that's the best pillow? My rock hard abs?" he teased.

"Oh, yeah, sorry," she said, drawing herself away rather seriously. "You should sleep on me instead."

"What?! I was joking! Ignore that self-depreciating humor and get back here!"

He pushed her head back down.

"Are you sure? I take your jacket, I use you as a pillow, gosh…what a needy girlfriend I'm becoming."

"You can use me all you want," he smoothed the back of her hair. "Make me your freaking Pillow Pet."

"Are you comfortable?"

"As much as I've ever been."

"Are you suuuuure?"

"Yes, I'm 'suuuuure.' Now get some rest, we've got to wake up early tomorrow."

Her nose scrunched up as she let out one last giant yawn, a notion Dave couldn't help but find heart meltingly adorable. Her eyelids pulled themselves shut as she began to drift off into a sleepy state. He wrapped his arms around her, feeling entirely right with the world and incredibly intoxicated with the way things had worked out for him, wondering how anything so precious could have ended up in his possession.


	21. He Said, She Said: Calla Lilies

She woke up, startled to find that her pillow was her boyfriend's chest.

What the heck had happened last night?! Jade racked her sleepy brain for some inkling of as to why she was outside, sleeping on Dave. She sat up, rubbed the eyelids behind her glasses, and gazed down at the boy beside her. Tired and dazed as she was, she couldn't help but smile- snicker a little, even. He was snoring and very slightly drooling, sunglasses still intact. It wasn't until she realized that they both were in formal wear that the gears of realization started ticking in her head. All the events of the evening before began rushing back and snapped her fully awake.

Her fingers reaching up to run through her wild, mangled mane was met with a crunch; her hair was matted with leaves. She tried to remove the crinkly intrusions to little avail. Oh well. She smoothed out the wrinkles in her dress and decided to wake up Dave- which was much easier said than done. For one, he was completely out of it, and in addition, it was entirely too cute of a sight for Jade to want to interrupt. Unlike Jade who had slept comfortably on his chest, both the sides of Dave's sleeves and face were caked with dirt. He looked like a little kid, all tuckered out from a tiring, dirty recess. She grinned from ear to ear, wishing she had some way of taking a picture of this. A mental snap shot would have to suffice; she'd remember it forever. She realized that she really ought to wake him up, but watching him snooze was entirely too fantastic an activity. Oh gosh, that was creepy, wasn't it? She turned away, embarrassed and ashamed at herself before taking a moment to resolve that it probably wasn't too weird and was socially acceptable couple fodder as appropriated by pop culture consensus. But now wasn't the time to debate the science of romance! Duty did call, after all.

She shook his shoulder slightly, which was only met with louder snoring. She poked his cheeks and ruffled his hair. When that didn't work, she stole his shades and goofily placed them over top her glasses.

"Daaave!"

"Mppgph," he mumbled back.

She leered over top of him, trying her hardest to suppress giggles.

"It's time to wake up," she cooed.

"Hm?..."

His eyelids fluttered open, bright scarlet eyes wide as he glared up at her.

"Jade?"

"Well, good morning, Sleeping Beauty," she laughed.

"Gimme those, silly," he snatched his shades back.

"Wake up, sleepyhead! We gotta skedaddle on out of here!"

"It is_ way_ too early for you to be using the word skedaddle."

She scrambled to her feet, prodding him to get up and to get a move on. He wasn't in any of a hurry.

"What's the rush?" he yawned. "The doors are unlocked for the day. Let's just sleep in a little."

"Daaave! No!"

"Cuddles?"

"No."

"Come on Harley, just five more minutes."

He let out an impressive sized yawn, his drowsiness not suiting her at all.

"I'm amazed we somehow managed to escape being seen last night, we really lucked out. But now we have to get out of here before anyone sees us."

"Fine, fine," he languidly agreed.

She beckoned him to his feet and scampered to the door, which was very thankfully unlocked. She made a mental map in her head of the school layout and what the fastest, safest way out would be. Whatever they did, staying as far away as possible from the office would be the top priority.

"Out the side doors, on the left wing," Jade decided.

"You sure? We'll have to go past the pool," Dave cautioned.

Darn. That would be a problem. Other than the swim club meet, it would be the easiest way. It would have to do.

The pair hurried down the hallway, snuck past corridors, and managed with great caution to evade any danger. Jade couldn't help but think to herself what a tremendous stroke of luck this had been, and had to admit that sneaking around the school like a pair of amateur sleuths was pretty fun.

All they had left was to creep past the pool area and they'd be home free.

It was a small, indoor pool; used for training the school's prized swim team. The room was encased with glass walls, in which Jade could see a collection of swimmers with their backs turned to her. All of them were intently listening to their captain, Feferi Peixes, who was standing in front of them proudly while animatedly waving her arms and hands around, probably giving them a pep talk. That is, she was- until she looked out beyond the shoulders of her teammates to see the pair of teenagers hastily sneaking by. Jade could see Feferi's expression transform from mild confusion to stark realization to a naughty, beaming smile. From beneath her hot pink goggles, her eyes crinkled up and she sported a devilishly-knowing smile and gave a playful little wave. The rest of the swim craned their heads around, their expressions immediately mirroring Feferi's. Jade slapped her forehead, groaning in agony. This is exactly what she'd been afraid of last night; there was no doubt. Who knows what sort of ridiculous rumors would be circulating? Rose was right; she should have just taken the detention or whatever punishment would have come her way.

A gaggle of swimsuit clad teenagers pressed up against the glass wall, eagerly shouting an assortment of things at the pair, some of them clapping and whooping. Feferi, who had pushed everyone out of the way to be at the center of it all, was arguably the loudest.

"STRIDER AND HARLEY, SITTIN' IN A TREE! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

Jade covered her face with her hands, blushing fiercely and wishing she were anywhere but here. Dave, on the other hand, was smiling just as much as his audience, beaming proudly next to his new girlfriend.

"FIRST COMES LOVE, FIRST COMES MARRIAGE! THEN COMES HARLEY WITH A-"

"Several thousand dollar debt, a long, grueling work shift, and the trouble of motherhood."

"Eridan! Why do you have to be such a gilljoy?!"

"First off, it's 'killjoy,' Fef. That pun was awful. Second, we're embarrassing the livin' daylights out of that poor girl. Leave her and her new crapsack boy-toy alone."

Jade never thought she'd see the day that she was so thankful for someone like Eridan Ampora.

"Dave," she growled, face red as a tomato. "Let's get out of here."

"Sure thing, babe," he leaned down and planted a cocky little kiss on the side of her cheek. The swim team went absolutely ballistic.

"D-DAVE! Knock it off, c-come on," Jade squealed. Under normal circumstances, she probably would have adored the gesture, but in this moment she absolutely hated it. She didn't like having an audience, like they were some sort of circus sideshow. She hated the way they were looking at her, like she was on display, like she was some sort of rule-breaking hooligan. Well, maybe HE kind of was, but she wasn't, and everyone could make fun of her for it but it felt like her reputation was slowly tarnishing and she wanted to cry from the embarrassment.

His exaggerated theatrics were only growing worse. She tried to walk away, but he only pulled her into a hug from behind, burying himself in her hair. They erupted in jeers and cheers and exclamations of excitement. Jade wanted to scream.

"Stop it! Let go," she barked. "This is just downright humiliating!"

She broke free of his grasp, stomping off and away as he called after her, wondering how this could get any more stupid. She wondered if maybe she was just being immature about it all, but decided that the whole event was incredibly juvenile and she had the right to be ticked off with her boyfriend's rash behavior.

"Oh, hello there Miss Harley!"

Her blood froze cold.

Miss Paint.

"Fancy seeing you here this morning; on a weekend, no less!" Miss Paint laughed, chipper. "About your submissions last night for garden club…you have most definitely proven yourself to be undeniably responsible! I am both pleasantly astonished and excited to announce that you have, in fact, saved your- hey, weren't you wearing that outfit last night?"

Jade gulped.

"M-miss Paint, I can explain-"

"Harley, wait up!"

He came cantering up beside her before realizing the imminent danger they were both in. Her face was calculating and emotionless, gazing over the both of them and piecing together what had happened.

"I swear! It was an accident, we got locked out-" Jade's heart sunk to low, dark depths.

"What were you doing outside in the first place?"

"N-nothing bad, I promise! We were just getting some air, and then-"

"You hid when the door was locked?"

She stared with glaring disbelief, slowly growing angry and impatient with the girl.

"I know it sounds dumb, but I got nervous, a-and I…"

"I've heard enough."

"W-what?" Jade was shaking on the inside.

"You don't want me to take this to the principal, do you?"

"NO! Please, no-"

"Then it's settled. For inappropriate conduct and blatant disregard for the rules, both of you have your presidency revoked from your respective clubs."

"No, you can't! Punish me, give me a_ million _detentions, just don't punish Jade, it means everything to her," Dave interjected, who had been standing back silently all the while.

"And furthermore, Jade, I'm afraid this just confirms all of my already establish doubts about Garden Club from before. It's more trouble than it's worth, and I'd revoked my earlier decision to continue it."

For once, Jade didn't have anything to say. She was out of firepower; an empty rifle without an ounce of ammunition. She was tired, and her case was a lost cause.

"I'm sorry, my mind is made up."

"Alright," her soft voice whimpered.

She took her leave, entering the exit and making her way into the parking lot. Dave wasn't following; he was fighting more than he ever had, bargaining and bickering and sparring with the counselor. Jade had to hold back tears; she should have known it would come to this. She felt upset, definitely, but she wasn't surprised. She gave it her best go, and that's all she could do. Now, it was time to simmer in the bitter, cold winds of defeat.

"Jade!"

As he caught up to her, a couple of stray tears found their way down the corners of her cheeks.

"I gave it a good run, didn't I?"

"The best run anyone's ever given anything," he said somberly, reaching out to pull her into a hug, despite her stiff body language.

"Hey," he suggested earnestly, "how about those chocolate waffles?"

"Nah," her small voice choked out, "S'okay. I'd better be getting back to Rose's place to get my stuff anyway."

He could tell that, even aside from the fiasco of getting caught, something even further was bothering her. She was cold, reserved; not like the warm, sunshine-y Jade he knew and loved. Not like he could just ask "hey, what's wrong?" because, hey, the whole situation pretty much sucked right now. He wished he knew what to say, what to do. He hated this with his whole heart.

The ride to Rose's place was even more awkward. She was quiet, sporting an air of irritation and frustration that made him feel incredibly uncomfortable. He knew he had to say _something_.

"Jade?" He knew he was wading in stormy waters.

She was gazing out the window, thinking hard. She reared her emotionless expression to look at him.

"Yeah?"

"Are you…are you okay?"

"Mmhmm."

Silence again. Her gaze averted back out the window, watching the trees and streetlights go seeding by. He'd have to take another crack at it.

"You…you don't seem okay."

"Well, no, Strider. It might not seem that way. Probably because getting laughed at by your peers and becoming the talk of the entire school behind your back isn't exactly fun," she spoke gently, quietly.

"What? No one's laughing at you for losing your club, trust me, if anybody's talking about anything, they're really impressed with your determination-"

"No. Not the club thing. I'm upset about that, too, though." Her shoulders gave a slight shrug and her mouth gave a sigh and that's the precise moment Dave Strider knew that he had inexplicably screwed up.

"What are you talking about?!"

"Nothing really," she feigned indifference. "S'all cool. No worries."

"No, _yes_ worries. Six million freakin' worries. Tell me what's wrong, Jade. Please."

"Really, don't give it another thought. It's fine." She was thankful they were almost there. "I'm just a big emotional baby right now is all," she mumbled under her breath.

"I'm giving it another thought- every ounce of my minuscule inferior Dave brain is thinking about this. If you'd just tell me wh-"

"Eh, just didn't think you were like _that_ is all. Making me look and feel all stupid in front of everyone. That was kind of part of the plan from the beginning though, right? Ha ha! You guys really got me good."

"What in the world are you talking about?! I…you…what?!"

He hadn't realized it until she had turned away her gaze from the window and to him, but her face was blushing a tender red and her tear ducts were obviously fighting the urge for another spill-over.

"Okay! Thanks for driving me here," she acted as though nothing had happened. "See you later, be careful on your way home."

Before he had anytime to act, she was out of the car and into Rose's house, his words and calls trailing off behind her into growing distance. He turned the car engine off, flung the door open, and jumped out. He wasn't going to let her get away this time. He didn't understand why she was so upset; he had just been so _proud_ of her, proud that he could call her his girlfriend. Proud that someone as brilliant as her could like him mutually. Proud that he could show her off and relish in the 100% true fact that, yes,_ Jade Harley is all mine._

But she wasn't.

He hadn't even thought about it before, hadn't even realized it: Jade Harley was not "his." Jade Harley wasn't anyone's, because her heart was full of love and joy and passion for so many different things, whether it was to her friends or to her hobbies or to her clubs. Her heart was a fountain, pouring out love left and right in abundance, and he was trying to bottle all that up and keep it for himself. She had feelings, aspirations, and more ambition than he thought was containable inside a human being. He couldn't monopolize her like that, couldn't "own" her, and that made it all the more special; she was with him by her own choice and want and nothing more. Her spirit may have been free and wild like a bird, but it was a bird that willingly and voluntarily flew down to him.

He should have listened; he hadn't even realized how stupid he was being. She was so embarrassed- and now to have her think, albeit somewhat foolishly, that he had planned to shame her and make her some kind of "laughing" stock. Even though he knew that it wasn't like that at all, she didn't- and she probably wouldn't believe him if he stood there and told her until he was blue in the face.

It was at these revelations that he drew back his hand, not knocking on the door of Rose's house to follow Jade in, but returning to his car and firing it up. He knew what he had to do; there would be only one pathway to his forgiveness, and he had to act hastily.

He drove his car right back to school. He was going to save Garden Club.


End file.
